Lok Sabha Question No. 2656 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-12-11
Subject: Allocation of Funds in New Railway Projects
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Shri Malaiyarasan D

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2656 TO BE ANSWERED ON 11.12.2024

## ALLOCATION OF FUNDS IN NEW RAILWAY PROJECTS

## 2656. SHRI MALAIYARASAN D:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state::

- (a) the number of new railway projects initiated by the Government during the last three years and the current year;
- (b) the  total  funding  allocated  for  these  projects  within  Tamil  Nadu including Kallakurichi Constituency during the last three years and the current year and their current status;
- (c) the expected completion timeline for these projects and their anticipated impact on improving railway infrastructure; and
- (d) the steps being taken to ensure timely execution and prevent delays in these projects?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, INFORMATION & BROADCASTING AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)

(a)  to  (d):    Railway  projects are surveyed/ sanctioned/executed Zonal Railway wise and not State-wise/ Parliamentary constituency-wise as the Railway projects may span across State boundaries/ Parliamentary constituency boundaries. Railway projects are sanctioned on the basis of    remunerativeness,   traffic   projections,   last   mile   connectivity, ..P/2

missing links and alternate routes, augmentation of congested/saturated  lines,  demands  raised  by  State  Governments, Central Ministries, Members of Parliament, other public representatives, Railway's own operational requirement, socioeconomic considerations etc. depending upon throwforward of ongoing projects and overall availability of funds.

Railway infrastructure 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)  zones  of  Indian  Railways. Zonal Railway wise details of Railway projects including cost, expenditure and outlay are made available in public domain on Indian Railway's website.

During last five  years  i.e.  FY  2019-20,  FY  2020-21,  FY  2021-2022,  FY 2022-23,  FY  2023-24  and  current  Financial  Year  2024-25,  total  04 projects  (01 New Line  and  03 Doubling)  of  a  total  length  of 75 Km, costing  Rs.  932  crore  falling  fully/partly  in  the  State  of  Tamil  Nadu have been sanctioned.

As  on  01.04.2024,  22  Railways  projects  (10  new  line,  03  Gauge conversion  and  09  doubling)  of  total  length  2,587  Km,  costing  Rs. 33,467  crore,  falling  fully/partly  in  the  State  of  Tamil  Nadu  including Kallakurichi  Constituency  are  at  various  stages  of  planning  and implementation, out of which 665 Km  length  has been  commissioned

and an expenditure of Rs. 7,153 crore has been incurred upto March' 2024. The status of work is summarized as under:-

| Plan Head               |   No. of projects |   Total Length (in Km) |   Length Commissioned (in Km) |   Expenditure upto March 2024 (₹ in Cr.) |
|-------------------------|-------------------|------------------------|-------------------------------|------------------------------------------|
| New Line                |                10 |                    872 |                            24 |                                     1223 |
| Gauge Conversion        |                 3 |                    748 |                           604 |                                     3267 |
| Doubling /Multitracking |                 9 |                    967 |                            37 |                                     2664 |
| Total                   |                22 |                   2587 |                           665 |                                     7153 |

Chinnasalem - Kallakurichi (16 Km) new line has been sanctioned on 50:50  cost  sharing  basis  between  Railway  and  State  Government  of Tamil Nadu. An outlay of Rs. 99 crore has been provided for Financial Year 2024-25. Work has been taken up in available land.

Budget allocation for infrastructure projects and safety works, falling fully/partly in the State of Tamil Nadu is as under:

| Period   | Outlay                              |
|----------|-------------------------------------|
| 2009-14  | Rs. 879 crore/year                  |
| 2024-25  | Rs. 6,362 crore (more than 7 times) |

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 and the completion of a railway projects is dependent of land acquisition.  However, Execution of important infrastructure  projects  falling fully/partly  in  the State of

Tamil Nadu are held up due to delay in land acquisition. Status of land acquisition in the State of Tamil Nadu is as under :

| Total Land required for Projects in Tamil Nadu   | 3389 Ha       |
|--------------------------------------------------|---------------|
| Land Acquired                                    | 866 Ha (26%)  |
| Balance Land to be acquired                      | 2523 Ha (74%) |

Government  of  India  is  geared  up  to  execute  projects,  however success depends upon the support of Government of Tamil Nadu.  For instance, details of some major projects which are delayed due to land acquisition are as under:-

|   SN | Name of the project                         |   Total land required (in Ha) |   Land acquired (in Ha) |   Balance Land to be acquired (in Ha) |
|------|---------------------------------------------|-------------------------------|-------------------------|---------------------------------------|
|    1 | Tindivanam -Tiruvannamalainew line (185 km) |                           273 |                      33 |                                   240 |
|    2 | Attiputtu - Puttur New Line (88 km)         |                           189 |                       0 |                                   189 |
|    3 | Morappur - Dharmapuri (36 km)               |                            93 |                       0 |                                    93 |
|    4 | Mannargudi - Pattukkottai (41 km)           |                           152 |                       0 |                                   152 |
|    5 | Thanjavur - Pattukottai (52 Km)             |                           196 |                       0 |                                   196 |

The completion of any Railway project depends on various factors like quick  land  acquisition  by  State  Government,  forest  clearance  by officials  of  forest  department,  deposition  of  cost  share  by  State Government  in  cost  sharing  projects,  priority  of  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.

Various  steps  taken  by  the  Government  for  speedy  approval  and implementation of Railway projects include (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.  This  has  led  to substantial increase in rate of commissioning since 2014.

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