Lok Sabha Question No. 241 (STARRED), answered on 2016-08-03
Subject: Construction of Rail Over Bridges
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: RAJU ALIAS DEVAPPA ANNA SHETTI

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO.241

## TO BE ANSWERED ON 03.08.2016

## CONSTRUCTION OF RAIL OVER BRIDGES

- †* 241.   SHRI RAJU SHETTY:
- Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:
- (a) whether  the  Government  has  chalked  out  an  ambitious  plan  to replace 208 railway crossings by Rail Over Bridges (ROBs) and if so, the details thereof including time-frame fixed therefor and expenditure likely to be incurred thereon;
- (b) the  status  of  construction  of  the  ongoing  ROBs  in  the  country particularly  in  the  State  of  Maharashtra  along  with  expenditure incurred thereon;
- (c) the  number  of  ROB  projects  which  are  running  behind  schedule including reasons therefor and the revised time-frame laid down for their completion; and
- (d) the  number  of  ROB  projects  including  those  sanctioned  in  the  last Rail Budget which are yet to take off including the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF RAILWAYS

(SHRI SURESH PRABHAKAR PRABHU)

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

*****

STATEMENT  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PARTS  (a)  TO  (d)  OF STARRED  QUESTION  NO.  241  BY  SHRI  RAJU  SHETTY  TO  BE ANSWERED IN LOK SABHA ON 03.08.2016 REGARDING CONSTRUCTION OF RAIL OVER BRIDGES

(a)  to  (d)  A  Memorandum  of  Understanding  (MOU)  was  signed  on 10.11.2014  between  Ministry of Railways  and  Ministry of  Road Transport  &  Highways  (MORTH),  that  MORTH/NHAI  shall  construct complete ROB/RUB on National Highways in the country at their own cost on single entity basis.

Further,  Ministry  of  Road  Transport  &  Highways  has  launched  a programme ('Setu Bharatam') on 4 th  March, 2016 for construction of 208 Road Over Bridges (ROBs)/Road Under Bridges (RUBs) in lieu of 208 Level Crossings, which are not falling under any other programme like  National  Highways  Development  Project  (NHDP)  etc.  by  end  of 2019. The details of 208 ROBs are as under:

Andhra  Pradesh-33, Assam-12,  Bihar-20, Chattisgarh-5, Gujarat-8, Haryana-10, Himachal Pradesh-5, Jharkhand-11, Karnataka-17, Kerala-4,  Madhya  Pradesh-6,  Maharashtra-12,  Odisha-4,  Punjab-10, Rajasthan-9, Tamil Nadu-9, Uttrakhand-2, Uttar Pradesh-9, West Bengal-22.

Railway  has  sanctioned  the  works  for  construction  of  1,592  Road Over Bridges (ROBs) in lieu of Level Crossings across the country on cost  sharing  basis.  Out  of  these  1,592  ROBs,  213  ROBs  have  been completed and commissioned. In addition to this, Railway Portion of 145 ROBs have also been completed but works on approaches are in progress.  Works  for  balance  1,234  ROBs  are  at  various  stages  of planning, estimation, invitation of tender and execution.

Road  Over  Bridges  (ROBs)  and  Road  Under  Bridges  (RUBs)  are sanctioned under Plan Head-30. In 2016-17, ₹ 2,443 crores have been allotted for Plan Head-30.

From 2009-10 to 2013-14, average 762 ROBs/RUBs per year have been constructed, whereas average 1066 ROBs/RUBs per year have been constructed during 2014-15 & 2015-16.

In  the  State  of  Maharashtra,  Railway  has  sanctioned  the  works  for construction  of  101  Road  Over  Bridges  (ROBs)  in  lieu  of  Level Crossings. Out of these 101 ROBs, 10 ROBs have been completed and commissioned.  In  addition  to  this,  Railway  Portion  of  4  ROBs  have also been completed but works on approaches are in progress by the State Government.

Funds  for  Road  Safety  Works  (ROBs/RUBs/Subways/Level  Crossings) come  from  Central  Road  Funds  (CRF)  as  a  percentage  of  cess collected on Diesel and Petrol by Ministry of Finance. Due to limited availability  of  funds  and  huge  throwforward  of  already  sanctioned works, these works are progressing to the extent possible. Completion of ROB   is dependent upon the availability of funds and construction  of  approaches  by  State  Government.  Progress  also depends upon removal of encroachment, land acquisition, availability of funds with State Government and other regional priorities. Railway makes all efforts to complete the Railway portion alongwith approaches by State Government.   Ministry of Railway has issued the

policy to construct ROB by single entity i.e. State Government/Railways/PSU and works are in progress  on single entity basis in State of Bihar, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Jharkhand etc.

Railway  has  taken  pro-active  measures  in  close  coordination  with various  stake  holders  to  improve  the  progress  of  construction  of ROBs/RUBs. Some of the initiatives are as under:

- engaging  single  agency  for  construction  of  Railway  Bridge  as well as the approaches.
- joint  survey  with  all  concerned  including  State  Government  to finalise the tentative General Arrangement Drawing (GAD).
- circulation of check list  and guidelines for preparation of GAD to State Government to avoid any back reference from Railway to State Government.
- standardization  of  drawings  for  various  spans  to  avoid  delay  in designing.
- nomination  of  nodal  officer  for    each  State  for  single  window clearance of GAD from Railway side.
- ·
- use of pre-cast /pre-fabricated components of the bridge.
- Memorandum  of  Understanding  (MOU)  with  Ministry  of  Road Transport  and  Highways  to  eliminate  all  level  crossings  on National Highway Corridors, bringing clarity on roles and responsibilities of both the Ministries.
- web-based  application  with  user-friendly features for online submission and approval of various plans and drawings related to ROBs/RUBs of NHAI within 60 days.
- Minister  of  Road  Transport,  Highways  &  Shipping  has  been requested  to consider construction of  ROBs/RUBs  on  level crossings on non-NH roads where traffic density being more than one lakh Train Vehicle Unit (TVU) per day.

- To meet the requirement of funds for safety related works, action initiated  for  creation  of  a  graded  Rastriya  Rail  Sanraksha  Kosh (RRSK) to be operated over next five years. In this programme, ₹ 43,444  crores  have  been  projected  for  safety  work  at  level crossing.
- Wherever possible elevated track will be planned for construction to avoid level crossings.
- General Managers have been empowered to sanction RUBs upto ₹ 2.50 crore value within their powers.

*****