GUWAHATI:
The Union Budget 2023-24 has earmarked Rs 10,988.80 crore for the development of railways in the North East, railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on February 3.
In a virtual interaction programme with media persons in North East, Vaishnaw said for the first time an amount of Rs 1.20 lakh crore has been earmarked for connecting the hilly and border areas of the region.
“The gross budget allocation for NF Railway for 2023-24 fiscal is Rs 10,988.80 crore,” Vaishnaw said.
“It is 13.75 per cent more than the previous year’s allotment (Rs 9,660.14 crore). The allocation for Northeastern states is Rs 10,269 crore which is about Rs 300 crore higher than the last year,” he also said.
This year’s allocation is the highest ever outlay which is about nine times the outlay made in 2013-14 and 51 per cent more than the last year.
Also 59 stations in the North East will be developed with world-class amenities/facilities.
Keeping in view the heritage concept of ‘Virasat Bhi, Vikas Bhi’, the Union minister informed that 310 old train coaches will be converted to LHB coaches for better riding experience and comfortable journey for the passengers.
Last year, 445 km of railway tracks were electrified in Assam. 15 stations each in all divisions of NFR to be developed under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme.
The Union minister added that adequate fund has been allotted for the overall development of railway infrastructure in all Northeastern states.
“This year’s budget allocation shows unprecedented growth in several segments like new line and doubling projects, track renewal works, traffic facilities, road safety works, bridge works, signalling, workshop modernisation and customer amenities etc,” the Union minister said.
Around Rs 6,591 crore has been allocated for new lines while it is Rs 1,364 crore for doubling of railway tracks, he said.
The Union minister also informed that total railway infrastructure projects of Rs 75,795 crore are going on in the entire Northeastern region.
An adequate allocation has been made for the early execution of all the ongoing works. Around Rs 1,100 crore has been allocated for Dimapur-Kohima new line projects while Rs 800 crore is earmarked for the execution of the Jiribam-Imphal new line projects, he also said.
Other capital connectivity projects in the Northeastern states such as Sivok – Rangpo new line projects in Sikkim gets Rs 2,350 crore while Rs 915 crore has been allocated for Bairabi-Sairang new line projects in Mizoram, Vaishnaw said.
Among other new line projects, Rs 200 crore for Agartala-Akhaura international connectivity project between India and Bangladesh and around Rs 700 crore is allocated for Araria – Galgalia project, Vaishnaw also said.
Rs 600 crore for New Bongaigaon – Rangiya-Kamakhya and Rs 500 crore for New Bongaigaon-Goalpara-Kamakhya has been allocated for speedy execution of the ongoing track doubling works, he also said.
Moreover, Rs 115 crore has been allocated for the doubling works between Katihar-Kumedpur and Katihar-Mukuria sections to further improve train connectivity to and from Northeast, he said.
Agthori station near Guwahati will be redeveloped with world-class facilities for Rs 517 crore, he added.
A capital outlay of Rs 2.40 lakh crore has been provided for the railways in the Union Budget 2023-24.