Bhubaneswar, July 8: The railway ministry’s proposal to create a new railway zone for Seemandhra by bifurcating Vishakhapatnam has raised the Odisha government’s hackles as it is likely to reduce the importance and restrict the area of the city-based East Coast Railway.
“We have a serious concern about creation of a new zone for Seemandhra by bifurcating Vishakhapatnam. We have raised serious objections to this and I hope the railway ministry will consider our just request to protect the interest of the backward areas of Odisha,” chief minister Naveen Patnaik said reacting to the railway budget presented in the Lok Sabha by D.V. Sadananda Gowda today.
Naveen had written to Gowda last week suggesting that in the event of Visakhapatnam division being taken away from the jurisdiction of East Coast Railway, three new railway divisions should be set up in Odisha and located in the mineral-rich belt of Jajpur-Keonjhar, Rayagada and the last one either at Rourkela or Jharsuguda.
Odisha had sought an allocation of Rs 3,160 crore in the budget for development of the railway but it has ultimately got Rs 1,420 crore. However, the allocation is more as compared to last year’s Rs 869 crore.
The good news for the state is that two premium trains — Shalimar-Chennai Express and Kamakshya-Bengaluru Express — sanctioned in the budget, will pass through Odisha.
A large number of engineers working in southern states, particularly in Bangalore, will benefit from the move. At present, around 12 trains, either originating in or passing through Odisha, go to Bengaluru.
While the state has been sanctioned four new trains in the budget, there is also a proposal to connect the Ib Valley in Jharsuguda with the Subdega coal bearing areas for faster and easier transportation of coal.
The railway minister also promised to extend the Howrah-Belda Mainline Electric Multiple Unit (MEMU) train to Jaleswar. Another good news for the state is that the Astaranga port project in Puri district has been included in the Sagarmala project aimed at providing rail connectivity to sea ports in the country.
But the state government remains worried about the fact that budget has made an allocation of a meagre Rs 100 crore for the key Khurda Road-Balangir railway line project. The government had hoped for greater allocation for the project for which it has agreed to bear 50 per cent of the construction cost and also to provide land free of cost. The state government has already made a provision of Rs 100 crore for the project in its own budget.
The other Odisha-based projects for which the railway minister has made budgetary allocation are Puri-Delang railway line doubling project (Rs 70 crore) Talcher-Bimalagarh railway line project (Rs 100 crore), Sukinda-Angul railway line project ( Rs 100 crore), Sambalpur-Titlagarh railway line project (Rs 105.89 crore) Haridaspur-Paradip railway line (Rs 187 crore), Banspani-Jakapara railway line (Rs 198 crore) Sambalpur-Talcher road railway line (Rs 52 crore) and Raipur-Titlagarh railway line (Rs 161.42 crore).
The chief minister has also opposed the linking railway fares with fuel prices. “I apprehend that this will affect the common man and expose them to vagaries of fluctuations in fuel price. I hope the railways will address this concern in the right earnest,” said Naveen.
However, in tune with his earlier statement about having a “positive” approach to the Modi government, the chief minister refrained from outright condemning the budget as he had done in the past in the case of railway budgets brought by the UPA government.
Leader of Opposition Narasingha Mishra said: “The railway budget for Odisha is disappointing. The Centre’s step-motherly attitude towards the state continues. The state government has also failed to present its case properly and effectively.”
BJP leader and Union minister of state for petroleum and gas Dharmendra Pradhan said: “The railway budget will be beneficial to Odisha. This time, there is greater emphasis on infrastructure development, security, public amenities and investment in the railways.”
