Question : DOUBLING PROJECTS

(a) the details and the present status of ongoing/pending doubling projects of the Railways, zone-wise including North Eastern Railway Zone;

(b) the details of funds allocated/spent thereon, section-wise and the time-frame set for the completion of the said projects, project-wise;

(c) whether feasibility study was conducted by the Railways and laid down time-frame for completion of projects prior to the sanction/approval of the doubling projects;

(d) if so, the details thereof and the reasons for delay in completion of projects; and

(e) the steps taken/being taken by the Railways to expedite completion of pending projects in a time-bound manner and to avoid cost overrun?

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS (SHRI MANOJ SINHA)

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

STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (e) OF UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3168 BY SHRI YOGI ADITYA NATH, SHRI HUKUMDEV NARAYAN YADAV, SHRIMATI SAKUNTALA LAGURI, SHRI MOHANBHAI KALYANJIBHAI KUNDARIYA AND SHRI SANJAY HARIBHAU JADHAV TO BE ANSWERED IN LOK SABHA ON 31.07.2014 REGARDING DOUBLING PROJECTS.

(a) to (d): The details of the ongoing doubling projects of the Railways including North Eastern Railway, including their cost, expenditure on 31.03.2014 and outlay provided in 2014-15, project-wise are enclosed as Appendix. All projects including doubling projects, are sanctioned after carrying out feasibility study. Most of the doubling projects can be completed in a time span of 4-5 years from the date of commencement, if adequate funds are provided to these projects on a regular basis. However, Railways have a huge throwforward of ongoing projects and a limited overall availability of funds. As such, it is not possible to allocate adequate funds to all the projects on a regular basis, which is a pre-requisite to fix time lines.

(e): To expedite completion of projects, a number of initiatives have been taken to generate additional resources through non-budgetary measures like funding by State Governments and other beneficiaries, execution of projects through Special Purpose Vehicles, etc. To reduce delays on account of land acquisition, security issues and forestry clearances etc, meetings with State Governments at various levels are also held from time to time. Field units have been empowered for faster decision making.