(a) the current status and the details of various ongoing and pending railway projects in Chhattisgarh; project-wise;
(b) the details of the number of ongoing projects running behind schedule;
(c) the sanctioned/ongoing projects in the State which are likely to be completed/started during the year 2021-22; and
(d) the measures being taken by the Government to expedite the completion of said projects?
MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, COMMUNICATIONS AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
(SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)
(a) to (d) A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.
STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (d) OF UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.2913 BY SHRIMATI GOMATI SAI TO BE ANSWERED IN LOK SABHA ON 15.12.2021 REGARDING RAILWAY PROJECTS IN CHHATTISGARH
(a) to (d) Railway projects are sanctioned Zonal Railway wise, not state wise as Indian Railways’ projects may span across state boundaries. However, as on 01.04.2021, 17 Projects of total length 2748 km costing ?38,216 crore falling fully/partly in the State of Chhattisgarh are under different stage of planning/approval/execution, out of which 566 km length has been commissioned and an expenditure of ?10,239 crore has been incurred upto March 2021. These include:
08 New Lines projects covering a length 1358 km, costing ?23,381 crore, out of which 131 km has been commissioned and an expenditure ?4,351 crore has been incurred upto March 2021.
09 Doubling projects covering a length 1390 km, costing ?14,835 crore, out of which 435 km has been commissioned and an expenditure of ?5,888 crore has been incurred upto March 2021.
Chhattisgarh is covered by South East Central Railway and East Coast Railway Zone of Indian Railways. Zonewise details of projects including expenditure and Budget outlay 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) >Rail Budget/Pink Book(year) Railway wise Works Machinery & Rolling Stock Programme.
The completion of Railway project/s depend on various factors like quick land acquisition by State Government, forest clearance by officials of forest department, deposition of cost share by concerned State Government /agencies in cost sharing project/s, 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/s site due to climatic conditions etc. and all these factors affect the completion time of the project/s. As such confirmed timeline for completion of project/s cannot be ascertained at this stage. Nevertheless, every effort is being made to execute the project/s expeditiously.
Various steps being taken by the Government for effective and speedy implementation of rail projects include (i) prioritisation of projects (ii) substantial increase in allocation of funds on priority projects (iii) delegation of powers at field level (iv) close monitoring of progress of project at various levels, and (v) regular follow up with State Governments and concerned authorities for expeditious land acquisition, forestry and Wildlife clearances and for resolving other issues pertaining to projects.
Since 2014, there is substantial increase in budget allocation for infrastructure projects and commensurate commissioning Average Budget allocation for Infrastructure projects & safety works, falling fully/ partly in State of Chhattisgarh, during 2014-19 has been enhanced to ?2,274 crore per year from ?311 crore per year(during 2009-14) which is 631% more than average annual budget outlay during 2009-14 (? 311 Cr/Yr). Total Budget allocation for these projects in 2019-20 has been ?3,269 crore (951% more than average annual budget outlay of 2009-14, and ?3874 crore for Financial Year 2020-21(1146% more than average annual budget outlay of 2009-14)
For Financial Year 2021-22, ?3730 crore has been provided for this works which is 1093% more than the average annual budget outlay of 2009-14(? 311 Cr/Yr).
Since 2014-21, 637 Km sections (132 km of New line and 505 km of Doubling) falling fully/partly in Chhattisgarh have been commissioned at an average rate 91 km per year, which is 1322% more than commissioning during 2009-14 ( 6.4 Km/Yr.)
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