(a) the details of the works relating to doubling/ electrification of Railway Lines/Tracks in the State of Assam;
(b) the funds allocated/released for doubling/ electrification of Railway Lines/Tracks in Assam during the last five years; and
(c) the details of doubling/electrification work is likely to be completed?
MINISTER OF RAILWAYS AND COMMERCE & INDUSTRY
(SHRI PIYUSH GOYAL)
(a) to (c): A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.
STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (c) OF UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2088 BY SHRI M. BADRUDDIN AJMAL AND SHRI ABDUL KHALEQUE TO BE ANSWERED IN LOK SABHA ON 04.03.2020 REGARDING DOUBLING AND ELECTRIFICATION IN ASSAM
(a) to (c): Projects are not sanctioned State-wise. Projects are sanctioned Zonal Railway wise. However, presently 6 Doubling projects, covering a length of 483 km at a cost of `15,388 crore falling in Assam are in different stages of planning/sanction/execution. Out of which, commissioning of 20 km length has been achieved and an expenditure of `1298 crore has been incurred upto March, 2019. A budget estimate outlay of `725 crore has been provided for 2019-20.
Presently, under Plan Head “Railway Electrification”, 10 electrification projects of 3,813 km length with costing of `4,599 crore falling fully/partly in Assam are in different stages of execution/planning. Out of which, commissioning of 433 km has been achieved.
The project-wise details of allotment of funds for doubling / electrification Railway projects in Assam during the last five years and current year are made available in public domain on Indian Railways website i.e. www.indianrailways.gov.in >Ministry of Railways >Railway Board >About Indian Railways >Railway Board Directorates >Finance(Budget) >Railway wise Works Machinery & Rolling Stock Programme_Regular Budget 2015-16/2016-17/2017-18/2019-20/2020-21.
Till 2013-14, due to overall limited availability of funds, most of the projects were not progressing satisfactorily. Since 2014-15, based on physical progress of projects, last mile connectivity projects and projects for decongesting the existing routes have been given sufficient funds. For this purpose, funds for capacity enhancement projects have been arranged through institutional financing for assured funding of viable projects. Thus, there is no constraint of funds for execution of doubling / 3rd line / 4th line projects.
Budget Allocation (for projects falling fully/partly in Assam and North Eastern Region):
Average Annual Budget allocation for Infrastructure projects and safety works, falling fully/partly in Assam and North Eastern Region during 2014-19 has increased to `5,531 crore per year from `2122 crore per year during 2009-14. Thus, the average annual budget allocation during 2014-19 is 161% more than average annual budget allocation during 2009-14.
Total allocation of Budget for Infrastructure projects and Safety works, falling fully/ partly in State of Assam and North Eastern States, in 2019-20 is `4909 crore which is 131% more than the average annual budget allocation of 2009-14 (`2122 crore/year).
Commissioning of projects:
During 2014-19, total 1223 km length (231 km New Line, 972 Gauge Conversion and 20 km Doubling) have been commissioned in the State of Assam which is 267% more than commissioning during 2009-14 (333 km).
Thorough review of throughput enhancement projects has been carried out and with focused approach, the projects have been prioritized into Super Critical, Critical and other throughput enhancement projects. All out sincere and focused efforts are being made by Railway for quick execution of these projects so as to get early returns to Railway.
In the overall interest of the Nation and to ensure that projects are completed in time without cost overrun, lot of monitoring is done in Railways at various levels (field level, Divisional level, Zonal level and Board level) and regular meetings are held with the officials of State Government and concerned authorities regarding quick land acquisition, forestry clearances, tackling law and order issues and to resolve the pending issues that are obstructing the progress of projects.
Completion of any Railway project depends on various factors like quick land acquisition by State Government, forest clearance by officials of forest department, shifting of infringing utilities (both underground and over ground), statutory clearances from various authorities, geological and topographical conditions of area, law and order situation in the area of project site, number of working months in a year for particular project site due to climatic conditions, encountering unforeseen conditions like earthquake, flooding, excessive rains, strikes of labour, orders of Hon’ble Courts, situation and conditions of working agencies/contractors etc. and all these factors differs from project to project and affects the completion time of the project. As such, firm completion time of the projects cannot be fixed at this stage.
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