Lok Sabha Question No. 332 (STARRED), answered on 2024-12-18
Subject: Connecting Paonta Sahib and Kala Amb of Sirmaur through Rail Network
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Shri Suresh Kumar Kashyap

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 332 TO BE ANSWERED ON 18.12.2024

## CONNECTING PAONTA SAHIB AND KALA AMB OF SIRMAUR THROUGH RAIL NETWORK

†*332. SHRI SURESH KUMAR KASHYAP:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  Paonta  Sahib  and  Kala  Amb  of  Sirmaur  district  are industrial areas and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether the Government  has  prepared any Detailed Project Report(DPR) to connect the said areas with rail network; and
- (c) if so, the details thereof including the time by which the Government  is  likely  to  start  the  work  of  the  said  rail  line  by approving the DPR prepared in this regard?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, INFORMATION & BROADCASTING AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

(SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)

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

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STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (c) OF STARRED QUESTION  NO.  332  BY  SHRI  SURESH  KUMAR  KASHYAP  TO  BE ANSWERED IN LOK SABHA ON 18.12.2024 REGARDING CONNECTING PAONTA SAHIB AND KALA AMB OF SIRMAUR THROUGH  RAIL NETWORK.

(a)  to  (c):  The  Railway  projects  are  surveyed/  sanctioned/executed Zonal  Railway  wise  and  not  State-wise/District-wise  as  the  Railways' projects  may  span  across  state  boundaries.  Sanctioning  of  Railway projects  is  a  continuous  and  dynamic  process  of  Indian  Railway. Railway Infrastructure Projects are taken up on the basis of remunerativeness,  last  mile  connectivity,  missing  links  and  alternate routes,  augmentation  of  congested/saturated  lines,  connectivity  to industrial  areas,  socio-economic  considerations  etc.  depending  upon liabilities of ongoing projects, overall availability of funds and competing demands.

Railway  infrastructure projects falling fully/partly in the State of Himachal Pradesh are covered under Northern Railway Zone 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

As on 01.04.2024, 04 New line of total length 255 km, costing Rs.13,168 crore,  falling  fully/partly  in  the  state  of  Himachal  Pradesh  are  in planning/approval/construction stage,  out  of  which, 61 km length has been  commissioned    and  an  expenditure  of  Rs.  6225  crore  has  been incurred upto March, 2024.  The status of the work is summarized as :

| PH   |   No. of projects |   Total Length (in km) |   Length Commissioned (Km) |   Latest Cost (Rs. in cr.) |   Exp upto March 2024 (Rs. in cr.) |
|------|-------------------|------------------------|----------------------------|----------------------------|------------------------------------|
| NL   |                 4 |                    255 |                         61 |                      13168 |                               6225 |

Budget allocation for  Infrastructure  projects  and  safety  works,  falling fully/ partly in Himachal Pradesh is as under:

| Period   | Outlay                      |
|----------|-----------------------------|
| 2009-14  | ₹108 crore/year             |
| 2024-25  | ₹2698 crore (Near 25 times) |

Survey for new line between Jagadhari and Paonta Sahib (62 Km) has been  completed.    Another  survey  from  Ghanoli  to  Dehradun  via  Kala Amb & Paonta Sahib   (216  Km) was carried out.   However,  projects could not be taken forward due to low traffic projections.

Two (2) new line projects namely Bhanupalli-Bilaspur-Beri (63.5 km) and Chandigarh-Baddi (30 km) falling fully/partly in Himachal Pradesh have been  sanctioned  on  cost  sharing  basis  with  state  Government  of Himachal Pradesh.

In  Bhanupalli-Bilaspur-Beri (63.5  km)    new  line  project,  79.57  Ha  land out  of  total  required  124.02  Ha  land  in  Himachal  Pradesh  has  been acquired.  The  work  on  available  land  has  been  taken  up.  So  far,  an expenditure  of  ₹5205  crore  has  been  incurred    on  this  Project  and ₹1351 crore is outstanding with Government of Himachal Pradesh.

The work of Chandigarh- Baddi (30 km) new rail line project have been taken  up.  As  on  1.07.2024,  the  expenditure  is  Rs.  727  Cr.  HP  State share comes out to be Rs. 363.5 Cr. HP has deposited Rs. 217.75 Cr till date  and  balance  share  of  Rs.  145.75  Cr  is  outstanding  with  State Government of Himachal Pradesh.

The  progress  of  these  projects  is  affected  due  to  non-fulfillment  of commitments by the State Govt. The support of State Govt is required to expedite the Projects.  The total outstanding amount is Rs. 1496.75 crore.  Failure  to  make  this  contribution  is  likely  to  have  significant impact on these projects.

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