Lok Sabha Question No. 3670 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-03-22
Subject: Railway Projects in West Bengal
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Nusrat Jahan Ruhi

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3670 TO BE ANSWERED ON 22.03.2023

RAILWAY PROJECTS IN WEST BENGAL

3670.  MS. NUSSRAT JAHAN:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a)  the  number  of  railway  projects  covering  fully/partially  in  West Bengal that are pending for completion till date;
- (b) the details of new lines, doubling, electrification, etc., pending for completion;
- (c) the timeline for completion of the above works;
- (d) the budget allocated for each of these projects falling fully/partially in West Bengal in 2023-24 Budget; and
- (e)  the  annual  average  budget  allocation  for  infrastructure  projects and safety works in West Bengal since 2014-15?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, COMMUNICATIONS AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

(SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)

- (a) to (e): A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

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STATEMENT  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PARTS  (a)  TO  (e)  OF UNSTARRED  QUESTION  NO.  3670  BY  MS.  NUSSRAT  JAHAN  TO  BE ANSWERED  IN  LOK  SABHA  ON  22.03.2023  REGARDING  RAILWAY PROJECTS IN WEST BENGAL (a) to (e): Railway projects are sanctioned and executed Zonal Railway wise and not State/District-wise as Railway projects may span across State/District boundaries.

As on 01.04.2022, 50 Railway infrastructure projects (16 new lines, 04 gauge conversions and 30 doublings), costing ₹ 51,645 crore, covering total length of 4,365 Km, falling fully/partly in the State of West Bengal are  in  different  stages  of  planning/approval/execution,  out  of  which 2,065  Km  length  have  been  commissioned  and  an  expenditure  of ₹ 20,974 crore has been incurred upto March'22. These include:-

-  16 New line projects covering total length of 1,538 Km at a cost of ₹ 25,054 crore, out of which 731 Km length has been commissioned and an expenditure of ₹ 10,249 crore has been incurred upto March, 2022.
-  4 Gauge conversion projects covering total length of 1,200 Km at a cost  of ₹ 7,848  crore,  out  of  which  848  Km  length  has  been commissioned and an expenditure of ₹ 3,584 crore has been incurred upto March, 2022.
-  30 Doubling projects covering total length of 1,627 km at a cost of ₹ 18,744 crore, out of which 486 Km length has been commissioned and an expenditure of ₹ 7,141 crore has been incurred upto March, 2022.

Presently, 03 Nos. Railway Electrification projects falling fully/partly in the State of West Bengal with total cost of ₹ 893 crore have been taken up.

Completion  of  any  Railway  project/s  depends  on  various  factors  like quick  land  acquisition  by  State  Government,  forestry  clearance  by officials of forest department, shifting of infringing utilities, statutory clearances  from  various  authorities,  geological  and  topographical conditions of area, law and order situation in the area of project/s site, number of working months in a year for particular project site due to climatic conditions, etc. With above constraints, every effort is being made to complete these projects at the earliest.

Railway Infrastructure Projects in the State of West Bengal is covered by Eastern Railway (ER), South Eastern Railway (SER) and Northeast Frontier  Railway  (NFR)  Zones  of  Indian  Railways.    The  project-wise details including  cost, expenditure and outlay are available in public domain  on  Indian  Railways  website  i.e.  www.indianrailways.gov.in  > Ministry  of  Railways  >  Railway  Board  >  About  Indian  Railways  > Railway Board Directorates > Finance (Budget)>Pink Book (year)>Railways-wise  Works,  Machinery  &  Rolling  Stock  Programme (RSP).

Since 2014, there has been substantial increase in allocation of funds and commensurate commissioning of Infrastructure projects. Average Annual  Budget  allocation  for  Infrastructure  projects  &  safety  works, falling  fully/  partly  in  State  of  West  Bengal,  during  2014-19  has  been enhanced to ₹ 4,612 crore per year from ₹ 4,380 crore per year during 2009-14,  which  is  5%  more  than  Average  Annual  Budget  allocation during 2009-14. Annual Budget allocation for these project have been increased to ₹ 5,033  crore  in  Financial  Year  2019-20  (15%  more  than the  Average  Annual  Budget  allocation  of  2009-14), ₹ 5,246  crore  in Financial  Year  2020-21  (20%  more  than  the  Average  Annual  Budget allocation  of  2009-14)  , ₹ 6,988  crore  in  Financial  Year  2021-22  (60%

more than the Average Annual Budget Outlay of 2009-14) and ₹ 10,262 crore in Financial Year 2022-23 (134% more than the Average Annual Budget  Outlay  of  2009-14).  For  Financial  Year  2023-24,  highest  ever Budget outlay of ₹ 11,970 crore has been proposed for these projects, which is 173% more than the Average Annual Budget Outlay of 200914 ( ₹ 4,380 crore per year). During  2014-22,  998  km  sections  (88  km  new  line,  151  km  Gauge conversion and 759 km doubling) falling fully/partly in the state of West Bengal  have  been  commissioned  at  an  average  rate  124.75  km  per year.

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