Question : Railway Projects

(a) the details of the railway projects sanctioned during the last two years and the current year, Zone/State-wise, project-wise and year-wise;

(b) the present status of various new/ongoing/pending railway projects and surveys in the country during the above period, Zone/State-wise and project-wise;

(c) the funds allocated and expenditure incurred on each of the projects during the said period, Zone/State-wise, project -wise and year-wise;

(d) whether the Railways proposes to give more financial assistance to the rail projects in the States particularly in Kerala and if so, the details thereof;

(e) whether the Railways has received complaints regarding substandard and low grade materials being used in some rail projects in the country including Odisha and if so, the details thereof and the action taken thereon;
(f) whether the Railways has constituted any committee to monitor the implementation of these projects and if so, the details thereof; and
(g) the steps taken/being taken by the Railways for expeditious completion of such projects?

MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE)
OF THE MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS AND
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

(SHRI MANOJ SINHA)

(a) to (g): A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.
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STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (g) OF UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 623 BY DR. KULAMANI SAMAL, SHRI KIRTI AZAD, SHRI M. RAJA MOHAN REDDY, SHRI RAJU SHETTY, SHRIMATI NEELAM SONKER, SHRI P.K. BIJU, SHRI ALOK SANJAR AND SHRI RAVINDRA KUMAR PANDEY TO BE ANSWERED IN LOK SABHA ON 20.07.2016 REGARDING RAILWAY PROJECTS

(a) to (c): Details of all those railway projects sanctioned during the last two years and the current year i.e. 2014-15, 2015-16 & 2016-17 including Cost, Length, Fund allotment, Expenditure etc. are available in public domain on Indian Railways website i.e. www.indianrailways.gov.in and are also available in Pink Books presented before the House alongwith Budget papers for all these years.

(d): Funds to the various railway projects are allocated project-wise and zone-wise on year to year basis and allocations are presented alongwith cumulative expenditure in the form of Pink Book submitted to the House along with the Budget Papers. Project-wise budget allotment is made as per availability of resources and progress of work. In particular, allocation of `45 Crore for new line, `181 Crore for Gauge Conversion and `790 Crore for Doubling projects falling fully/partly in State of Kerala have been made in Rail Budget 2016-17.

(e): System is in place to ensure quality control in execution of projects. Therefore, adherence to quality in railway projects is a continuous process. Complaints regarding use of substandard material in railway projects, whenever received, are investigated / inquired into and corrective action and system improvement, if any, are taken as required.

(f): No separate committee has been framed to monitor the implementation of railway projects. The monitoring is done at different levels from field units to Railway Board and above at regular intervals.

(g): Some other steps taken/being taken by the Government for effective and speedy implementation of rail projects in the country are (i) substantial increase in allocation of funds, (ii) prioritization of projects, (iii) delegation of powers at field level, (iv) regular co-ordination meetings with State Governments for land acquisition, relocation of utilities, etc.

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