Title - House panel readies rail proposal worth Rs3,050 crore

A committee of the State Assembly on Railway Development on Thursday finalised the proposal of allocation in 2013-14 Railway Budget at Rs3,050 crore for different projects.The 54-member House panel is scheduled to visit Delhi to meet the Prime Minister and the Union Railway Minister in the first week of February to press for higher allocation for the State in the coming Railway Budget.The House committee, which met on the premises of the State Assembly under the Chairmanship of Speaker PK Amat, decided to seek an audience of Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal between January 20 and February 4 to submit memorandum demanding Rs3,050 crore for railway development.Earlier, in the first week of January, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had urged both the Prime Minister and the Railway Minister to ensure allocation of a sizable part of the revenues generated from within the State towards railway budgetary allocation during 2013-14 for expanding and augmenting rail network.After the meeting, Commerce and Transport Minister Subrat Tarai, highlighting the summary budget proposal for the State, told newsmen that  while Rs1,440 crore would be demanded for the construction of nine new railway lines, Rs940 crore for doubling of 14 railway lines, Rs50 crore for gauge conversion, Rs210 crore for electrification projects, Rs50 crore for development of goods sheds, Rs50 crore would be demanded for development of multimodal logistic parks at Kalinga Nagar, Angul, Jharsuguda, Rourkela and Chaudwar.

The proposal also envisages demand for Rs35 crore to set up a wagon manufacturing unit at Sitalapali, Ganjam, sleeper manufacture and wagon factory in Kantabanji and a maintenance facility at Khurda.

Tarai said that the House panel would urge both the Prime Minister and the Railway Minister to make a budgetary provision of Rs 50 crore for over and under bridges, Rs 225 crore for passenger amenities including automatic ticketing, circulation area, platform shelters, toilets, five coaching terminals, development of modern station at Bhubaneswar and Puri and 17 model stations and eight multifunctional complexes in the State.

The proposal also includes the demand for introduction of five Duranto trains between Bhubaneswar-Bangalore, Puri-Jeypore, Bhubaneswar-Pune, Bhubaneswar-Bombay and Puri-Surat.

Besides, the panel would also demand the Union Railway Minister to run three super fast, ten express, three intercity, two passenger and eight DMU and MU trains for the convenience of the people of the State, he said.

Referring to the delay in taking up and completion of the railway projects, the Commerce and Transport Minister said the State would also demand recruitment of more technical persons for the smooth execution of various railway projects in the State and bringing of all the railway lines and projects in the State under the East Coast Railway Zone.

It was proposed to demand higher allocation for the construction of the nine new lines – Angul-Duburi-Sukinda Road, Khurda Road-Bolangir, Haridaspur-Paradip, Talcher-Bimalagarah, Lanjigarah Road-Junagarah, Digha-Jaleswar, Kendujhar-Badampahar, Gunupur-Theruvali-Rayagada and Vasudhara –Rampia Coal Corridor.

It also proposed allocation for traffic facilities, development of goods sheds at Rourkela, Bhadrakh, Jharsuguda, Sambalpur, Balangir, Titilagarh, Khariar, Kesinga, Rayagada, Jeypur, Koraput, Redhakhol, Angul, Dhenkanal, Nirgundi, Mancheswar, Khurda, and Jaganathpur.