Lok Sabha Question No. 33 (STARRED), answered on 2024-07-24
Subject: Railway Projects in Tamil Nadu
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Shri Selvam G

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO.33 TO BE ANSWERED ON 24.07.2024

## RAILWAY PROJECTS IN TAMIL NADU

- *33.  SHRI SELVAM G:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  the  Government  has  identified  any  railway  projects  in Tamil Nadu that are currently running behind schedule;
- (b) if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether  the  Government  has  taken  specific  steps  to  ensure timely completion of railway projects in Tamil Nadu;
- (d) whether the Government plans to accelerate the commissioning of  pending  projects  to  improve  connectivity  and  operational efficiency across the State; and
- (e) if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, INFORMATION & BROADCASTING 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 STARRED QUESTION NO. 33 BY SHRI SELVAM G TO BE ANSWERED IN LOK  SABHA  ON  24.07.2024  REGARDING  RAILWAY  PROJECTS  IN TAMIL NADU

(a) to (e): Railway projects are sanctioned Zonal Railway-wise and not State-wise as Indian Railways projects may span across various state boundaries.

As  on  01.04.2024,  22  Railways  projects  (10  new  line,  03  Gauge conversion and 09 doubling) of total length 2,587 Km, costing 33,467 crore,  falling  fully/partly  in  the  State  of  Tamil  Nadu  are  in  different stages of planning/sanctioning/ execution, out of which 665 Km length has been commissioned and an expenditure of 7,153 crore has been incurred upto March, 2024. These include:-

-  10  New  Line  Projects  of  total  length  872  Km,  costing 14,669 crore, out of which 24 Km length has been commissioned and an expenditure of  1,223 crore has been incurred upto March, 2024.
-  03  Gauge  Conversion  Projects  of  total  length  748  Km,  costing 5,417 crore, out of which 604 Km length has been commissioned and an expenditure of  3,267 crore has been incurred upto March, 2024.
-  09  Doubling  Projects  of  total  length  967  Km,  costing 13,381 crore, out of which 37 Km length has been commissioned and an expenditure of  2,664 crore has been incurred upto March, 2024.

Railway projects falling fully/partly in the State of Tamil Nadu are covered under Southern Railway (SR), South Central Railway (SCR) and South Western Railway (SWR) zone of Indian Railways. Zone-wise and Year-wise  details  of  all  Railway  projects  including  latest  sanctioned cost, expenditure and outlay are made available in public domain on Indian Railways website.

Railway is making all efforts to complete the Railway projects in targeted time. Various steps have been taken by the Government for speedy approval and implementation of rail projects.

These includes:(i) setting up of Gati Shakti units; (ii) prioritisation  of  projects;  (iii)  substantial  increase  in  allocation  of funds  on  priority  projects;  (iv)  delegation  of  powers  at  field  level; (v)  close    monitoring    of    progress    of  project  at  various  levels  and (vi) regular follow up with State Governments and concerned authorities  for  expeditious  land  acquisition,    forestry    and  Wildlife clearances and for resolving other issues pertaining to projects.

Since  2014,  there  has  been  substantial  increase  in  Budget allocation  and  commensurate  commissioning  of  projects.  Budget allocation for infrastructure and safety projects falling fully/ partly in the State of Tamil Nadu has been enhanced to highest at  6,362 crore this year which is nearly seven times of the budget allocation of  922 crore in 2013-14.

Average  annual  Budget  allocation  for  Infrastructure  and  safety works, falling fully/ partly in the State of Tamil Nadu is as under:-

| Period   | Average Outlay   | Increase w.r.t. average allocation   |
|----------|------------------|--------------------------------------|
| 2009-14  | 879 crore/year   | -                                    |
| 2023-24  | 6,080 crore      | nearly 7 times                       |

In 2014-24, 1302 Km section (39 km New Line, 456 Km of Gauge Conversion and 807 km of Doubling) falling fully/partly  in the State the Tamil Nadu have been commissioned at an average rate of 130.2 Km per year.

Though  fund  allocation  has  increased  manifold  but  pace  of execution  of  project  is  dependent  on  expeditious  land  acquisition. Railway acquires the land through State Government. State Government  assesses  the  compensation  amount  and  advises  to Railway.  On  receipt  of  demand  from  State  Government,  Railway deposits compensation amount with concerned District Land acquisition  Authority.  Execution  of  important  infrastructure  projects falling fully/partly in the State of Tamil Nadu is held up due to delay in land acquisition and only about 807 Ha land has been acquired out of total  requirement  of  about  2749 Ha.  Railway  had  initiated  efforts  for acquisition  of  land  but  could  not  succeed  in  acquiring  land  for projects.  Support  of  the  Government  of  Tamil  Nadu  is  needed  to expedite the land acquisition.

Execution of following projects, falling fully/partly in the State of Tamil Nadu are pending mainly due to delay in handing over of land by State Government of Tamil Nadu:-

|   SN | Name of Project                 | Length   |
|------|---------------------------------|----------|
|    1 | Trivandrum-Kanyakumari doubling | 87 Km    |
|    2 | Tindivanam - Nagari New line    | 184 Km   |
|    3 | Morappur - Dharmapuri New Line  | 36 Km    |

The  completion  of  any  Railway  project  depends  on  various factors  like  quick  land    execution    by    State    Government,    forest clearance  by officials of forest  department,  deposition of State share by state Government in cost sharing projects, 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.  All these factors affect the completion  time  of  the  project(s).  As  such  no  confirm  time-line  for completion of the project(s) can be given.

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