Lok Sabha Question No. 1737 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-12-13
Subject: Railway Projects in Odisha
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Basanta Kumar Panda

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.1737 TO BE ANSWERED ON 13.12.2023

## RAILWAY PROJECTS IN ODISHA

1737.  SHRI BASANTA KUMAR PANDA:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) the details of all railway projects/railway line/doubling of tracks in the state of Odisha which cover the districts of Kalahandi and Nuapada for the last nine years;
- (b) the details of  funds allocated to the  state  of  Odisha on various projects in the above said districts, year/project-wise during the last nine years;
- (c) whether any railway projects are pending for the State of Odisha and if so, the details thereof;
- (d) the  efforts  taken  by  the  Railways  to  complete  the  pending projects in Odisha including the above districts; and
- (e) whether  the  Government  has  any  five  year  plan  for  railway projects in Odisha and if so, the details thereof?

## 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. 1737 BY SHRI BASANTA KUMAR PANDA TO  BE  ANSWERED  IN  LOK  SABHA  ON  13.12.2023  REGARDING RAILWAY PROJECTS IN ODISHA

(a) to (e): The Railway projects are sanctioned/executed Zonal Railway wise and not State/District wise as the Railways' projects may span across State/District boundaries.

As on 01.04.2023, 35 Projects (12 New Lines, 1 Gauge Conversion and 22  Doubling)  of  total  length  4,257  Km,  costing  ₹52,189  crore,  falling fully/partly in Odisha including Kalahandi and Nuapada districts are in planning/approval/construction stage.

Railway  Projects  in  Odisha  are  covered  under  East  Coast  Railway, South Eastern Railway and South East Central Railway zones of Indian Railway.    Zonal  Railway  wise  details  of  Railway  projects  including cost, expenditure and outlay are made available in public domain on Indian Railways website.

Since 2014, there has been substantial increase in fund allocation and commensurate commissioning of Projects falling fully/partly in State of Odisha.

Budget Allocation:

| Period   | Budget Outlay   | % change w.r.t. avg. annual allocation of 2009-14   |
|----------|-----------------|-----------------------------------------------------|
| 2009-14  | ₹838 Cr./Yr     | -                                                   |
| 2023-24  | ₹10012 Cr.      | 1095% more                                          |

## Commissioning

| Period   | Total length commissioned (in km)   | Average km/year   | % change in commissioning since 2009-14   |
|----------|-------------------------------------|-------------------|-------------------------------------------|
| 2009-14  | 267 km                              | 53.40 km          | -                                         |
| 2014-23  | 1583 km                             | 175.90 km         | 229% more                                 |

Completion of Railway project/s depends on various factors like quick land acquisition by State Government, forest 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.  and  all  these  factors  affect  the  completion time of  the  project(s),  which  is  finally  worked  out  at  the  completion stage.

Various steps being taken by the Government for effective and speedy implementation  of  rail  projects  include  (i)  setting  up  of  Gati  Shakti Directorate in the Ministry and Gati Shakti units in field, (ii) prioritisation  of  projects,  (iii)  substantial  increase  in  allocation  of funds, (iv) delegation of powers at field level, (v) close monitoring of progress of project at various levels (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.

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