Railway budget allocates Odisha with Rs 6,995 crore for ongoing Indian Railway projects

The announcement of the Railway Budget preceded the announcement of the General Budget when the finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented her budget 2021-22 on February 1.

While going through the Railway Budget in detail it was found that the Centre has allocated a total outlay of Rs 6,995.58 crore for the state of Odisha. The fresh allocation is nearly 60 per cent more than the previous fiscal’s railway budget which saw an outlay of Rs 4,373 crore. The funding for Odisha in the financial year 2021-22 under all plan heads combined is Rs 6,995.58 crore.

However, a demand of Rs 7,200 crore was presented by the state government for the railway infrastructure in Odisha, it is understood. For 2021-22, the total budget outlay for the development of infrastructure as well as safety-related works in Odisha is Rs 5,528 crore.

The statement issued by East Coast Railway said that this does not include many other projects and estimates as they are not important enough for mention at the ministry level, but for the ECoR zone and the state of Odisha, these are crucial development works. It further said that the allotment has been significant for railway projects to be completed in the year 2020-21, adding that the funding is to ensure that no progress of a project is hindered for lack of funds.

There has been a noteworthy increase in outlay for amenities of passengers, road safety works in terms of ROBs and RUBs as well as Limited Height Subway (LHS).

While claiming that the Modi government has been cooperative towards railway infra development in the state of Odisha, Union Steel Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said that Rs 1,000.50 crore has been allocated by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for Khurda Road-Bolangir project against last year’s allocation of Rs 520 crore.

According to Pradhan, the fresh allocation is 92.4 per cent increase from the previous year’s outlay for this project. He urged the government of Odisha to complete the process of land acquisition for the project so that the allocated funds be utilized within the financial year 2021-22. He said this project will connect the coastal region with the state’s western parts.

Similarly, funding for doubling projects especially, Bansapani-Daitari-Tomka-Jahkapura is Rs 228 crore against last year’s Rs 80 crore, which is an increase of 185 per cent.

Apart from this, more allocations have been made for other railway projects such as Brundamal-Jharsuguda flyover (allocation of Rs 20 crore against last year’s Rs 10 crore), Bhadrak-Nergundi third line (allocation of Rs 229 crore against last year’s Rs 102 crore), Budhapank-Salagaon (allocation of Rs 215 crore against last year’s Rs 205 crore), Rourkela-Jharsuguda third line (allocation of Rs 230 crore as against last year’s Rs 170 crore, with an increase of 35%), Narayangarh-Bhadrak third line (allocation of Rs 225 crore as against last year’s Rs 50 crore, with an increase of 350 per cent).