(a) whether the Tamkuhi Road-Chhitauni Rail Project for which the foundation stone was laid in 2007 has been still lying pending and if so, the facts thereof;
(b) whether approximately Rs. 100 crores have been spent on this project so far and no work has been undertaken on this project during the last three years;
(c) if so, the details thereof;
(d) whether the Government proposes to complete this project; and
(e) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor?
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. 3435 BY SHRI SUNIL KUMAR TO BE ANSWERED IN LOK SABHA ON 23.03.2022 REGARDING TAMKUHI ROAD-CHHITAUNI RAIL PROJECT
(a) to (e): Chhitauni-Tumkuhi Road (62.6 Km.) new line project was sanctioned in the year 2006-07. The latest anticipated cost of the project is ` 893 crore. Total expenditure of `116.43 crore has been incurred. Project involves acquisition of 381 acre land in Bihar and 190 acre land in Uttar Pradesh. A total of `60.04 crore has been spent for acquisition of land in Bihar. Work on 3.70 Km section between Paniyahawa Chhitauni has been completed and Earthwork, minor bridges, Road Over Bridge work in Chhitauni-Jatha (10 Km) section has been taken up.
Railway has reviewed all the projects based on last mile connectivity, missing links, traffic potential on the project, capacity enhancement, availability of land, forest/wild-life clearance etc. and based on the review, Railway projects have been prioritized. Presently, Railway’s focus is on completion of capacity enhancement projects and last mile connectivity projects.
Completion of any 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, priority of projects(s) etc. and all these factors affect the completion time of the project(s).
Since 2014, there has been substantial increase in budget allocations and commensurate commissioning for Infrastructure projects & safety works. Average annual Budget allocation for Infrastructure projects & safety works, falling fully/ partly in State of Uttar Pradesh, during 2014-19 has been enhanced to `5,278 crore per year from `1,109 crore per year (during 2009-14), which is 376% more than average allocation during 2009-14. Budget allocation for these projects has been `8,403 crore for financial year 2019-20 (658% more than the average annual budget allocation of 2009-14), ` 8,576 crore for financial year 2020-21, (673% more than the average annual allocation of 2009-14) and `14,128 crore for financial year 2021-22, (1174% more than the average annual allocation of 2009-14). For financial year 2022-23 highest ever budget outlay of `14,761 crore has been proposed for these projects, which is 1231% more than the average annual budget allocation of 2009-14.
During 2014-21, 2032 Km (204 Km. of new line, 631 Km.of gauge conversion and 1197 Km of doubling) projects, falling fully/ partly in the State of Uttar Pradesh have been commissioned at an average rate of 290.29 Km per year, which is 46 % more than average commission during 2009-14 (199.2 Km per year).
Average annual Budget allocation for Infrastructure projects & safety works, falling fully/ partly in State of Bihar, during 2014-19 has been enhanced to `3,061 crore per year from `1,132 crore per year (during 2009-14), which is 170% more than average allocation during 2009-14. Budget allocation for these projects for financial year 2019-20, has been `4,093 crore (262% more than the average annual budget
allocation of 2009-14), `4,489 crore for financial year 2020-21(297% more than the average annual allocation of 2009-14) and `5,560 crore for financial year 2021-22 (391% more than the average annual allocation of 2009-14). For financial year 2022-23 highest ever budget outlay of `6,606 crore has been proposed for these projects, which is 484% more than the average annual budget allocation of 2009-14.
During 2014-21, 968 Km (317 Km. of new line, 345 Km. of gauge conversion and 306 Km of doubling) projects, falling fully/ partly in the State of Bihar have been commissioned at an average rate of 138.29 per year which is 117% more than commissioning during 2009-14 (63.6 Km per year).
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