Lok Sabha Question No. 1473 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-12-04
Subject: Railway Projects in Chhotaudepur, Gujarat
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Shri Jashubhai Bhilubhai Rathva

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1473 TO BE ANSWERED ON 04.12.2024

## RAILWAY PROJECTS IN CHHOTAUDEPUR, GUJARAT

1473. SHRI JASHUBHAI BHILUBHAI RATHVA:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) the  details  of  new  railway  projects  that  were  announced  for Gujarat especially in Chhotaudepur parliamentary constituency, during the last three years;
- (b) the details of the number of projects out of these, commissioned so far and the budgetary allocations made for the same along with details of steps taken to ensure their timely completion;
- (c) the status of those projects which have not been commissioned and the time by which these would be commissioned;
- (d) whether  the  Government  is  aware  that  a  large  area  is  still deprived of rail connectivity in Gujarat; and
- (e) if  so,  the  details  thereof  project-wise  along  with  the  time  by which the works on these projects are likely to be started?

## 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 UNSTARRED  QUESTION  NO.  1473  BY  SHRI  JASHUBHAI  BHILUBHAI RATHVA TO BE ANSWERED IN LOK SABHA ON 04.12.2024 REGARDING RAILWAY PROJECTS IN CHHOTAUDEPUR, GUJARAT

(a) to (e): Railway  projects  are  surveyed/sanctioned/executed  Zonal Railway-wise and not State-wise/Constituency-wise as Indian Railway projects may span across State boundaries/Parliamentary Constituencies.  Railway  projects  are  sanctioned  on  the  basis  of remunerativeness,  traffic  projections,  last  mile  connectivity,  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, socio-economic considerations etc. depending upon throwforward of ongoing projects and overall availability of funds.

Railway  infrastructure  projects,  falling  fully/partly  in  the  State  of Gujarat, are covered under Western Railway and North Western Railway zones of Indian Railway. Zone-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, 42 Railway projects (6 New Line, 22 Gauge Conversion and 14 Doubling), of total length of 2,947 Km, costing ₹30,826 crore, falling  fully/partly  in  the  State  of  Gujarat,  are  at  various  stages  of planning  and  implementation,  out  of  which,  826  Km  length  has  been commissioned and an expenditure of ₹9,336 crore has been incurred upto March, 2024. The status of work is summarized as under:-

Contd…2

| Category                |   No. of projects |   Total Length (in Km) |   Length Commissioned (in Km) |   Expenditure upto March 2024 (₹ in Cr.) |
|-------------------------|-------------------|------------------------|-------------------------------|------------------------------------------|
| New Line                |                 6 |                    537 |                           105 |                                     3332 |
| Gauge Conversion        |                22 |                   1634 |                           671 |                                     4655 |
| Doubling/ Multitracking |                14 |                    776 |                            50 |                                     1349 |
| Total                   |                42 |                   2947 |                           826 |                                     9336 |

Construction works on the flagship high speed bullet train project have gathered momentum in Gujarat. Now, 100% land acquisition has been completed. Construction of viaduct for 225 Km, out of about 352 Km section  of  this  project  falling  in  the  State  of  Gujarat,  has  also  been completed.

Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) also passes through Gujarat. About 565 route Km of Western DFC is situated in Gujarat, which is about 37% of overall route length of Western DFC. Full project length falling in the State of Gujarat has been commissioned.

Railway has taken up construction of Chhotaudepur-Dhar (157 Km) New Line project, which passes through Chhotaudepur constituency. 72 Km length has been commissioned so far. An expenditure of ₹1382 crore has been incurred upto March 2024 and an outlay of ₹200 crore has been provided for this project for the financial year 2024-25.

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

| Period   | Outlay                         |
|----------|--------------------------------|
| 2009-14  | ₹589 crore/year                |
| 2024-25  | ₹8,743 crore (nearly 15 times) |

Contd…3

The details of commissioning/laying of new track, falling fully/partly in the State of Gujarat during 2009-14 and 2014-24, is as under:-

| Period   | New Track Commissioned   | Average Commissioning of new tracks   |
|----------|--------------------------|---------------------------------------|
| 2009-14  | 660 Km                   | 132 Km/year                           |
| 2014-24  | 2,244 Km                 | 224 Km/year (nearly 02 times)         |

Total 49 Nos. of surveys (New Line, Gauge Conversion and Doubling), of total length of 3,791 Km, falling fully/partly in the State of Gujarat, have been sanctioned in last three years (i.e. 2021-2022, 2022-2023, 20232024) and current Financial Year i.e. 2024-2025.

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) prioritization 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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