Record Allocation For Railway Sector In Odisha: Vaishnaw
Bhubaneswar: The Centre has allocated Rs 10,012 crore for railway sector in Odisha in the Union Budget 2023-24, which was tabled in the parliament on February 1.
This was revealed by Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw today.
“The annual average outlay for railway sector in Odisha was Rs 838 crore in between 2009 and 2014. However, the Centre has allocated Rs 10,012 crore for railway sector in the state in the Budget 2023-24. The present allocation is 12 times more than the average annual outlay during 2009-14 period. This is the record allocation for railway sector in Odisha,” said the Railway Minister.
According to the Railway Minister, the Centre has allocated Rs 1,599 crore for Khurda Road-Bolangir project in the Budget 2023-24.
Similarly, it has allocated Rs 300 crore for Talcher-Bimlagarh railway project, Rs 200 crore for Angul-Sukinda Road project, Rs 115 crore for Jeypore-Malkangiri and Rs 100 crore for Jeypore-Nabarangpur project.
The Centre has made Rs 284 crore outlay for new Janjatiya Gaurav corridor in Odisha while the equal amount has been allocated for the new Energy Corridor. The Budget has provision of Rs 57 crore for new port connectivity, Vaishnaw said.
According to him, the Centre has allocated Rs 135 crore for doubling of tracks between Kirandul and Jagdalpur, and Rs 110 crore for doubling of tracks between Jagadalpur and Koraput under Waltair division.
“On an average, the railways was laying just 53.4 kms of new tracks in Odisha in a year in between 2009 and 2014. Now, we are laying around 423 kms of new tracks in Odisha in a year,” said the Railway Minister.
Vaishnaw claimed that the Centre has constructed as many as 417 ROBs and RUBs in Odisha since 2014.
According to him, altogether 28 railway stations in Odisha have been identified under the One Station One Product initiative.
Puri railway station has been identified for the promotion of Pattachitra, Pipli for appliqué work and sweets, Cuttack for filigree work, handloom and handicrafts, Rourkela for tribal products and Sambalpur for Sambalpuri saris and garments, said Vaishnaw.
Renovation work is under progress at 27 railway stations in Odisha. At least 13 stations have been identified in KBK districts for developmental work, he said.
Notably, the state government had sought central allocation of Rs 8,400 crore for railway infrastructure projects in Odisha in the Budget 2023-24.
The state had received central allocation of Rs 6,303 crore for railway infrastructure in the last year’s Budget while the overall railway allocation for Odisha was 9,734 crore.
