(a) whether the Railways have fixed any time limit for completion of gauge conversion projects in the country;
(b) if so, the details thereof; and
(c) the time by which Udaipur-Dungarpur-Ahmedabad via Himmatnagar gauge conversion project is likely to be completed along with the estimated cost of the said project and the total amount spent on this project so far?
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS (SHRI MANOJ SINHA)
(a) to (c): Indian Railways have a huge throwforward of ongoing projects and limited overall availability of funds. Therefore, it is not possible to allocate adequate funds to these projects on a regular basis which is a pre-requisite to fix time lines. As regards gauge conversion of Udaipur-Dungarpur-Ahmedabad via Himmatnagar, the same has been taken up at an estimated cost of Rs. 1215 Crores and an expenditure of Rs. 48 Crores has been incurred upto March, 2014. An outlay of Rs. 41 Crores has been provided for this project during the year 2014-15.