Bhubaneswar, Feb. 24: A nine-member delegation of the BJD MPs today met railway minister Suresh Prabhu and urged him to make adequate allocation in the budget to facilitate expansion of railway network in the state.
The railway budget will be placed in Parliament on Thursday.
Earlier, the House committee on railways of the Odisha Assembly had sought the appointment with the railway minister - which was denied.
Sources said the railway minister has assured the delegation to take the concerns of the Odisha into account. He will review the progress of the railway projects related to Nabakalebar festival, scheduled in July. BJD MP Kalikesh Singh Deo, who was part of the delegation, said: 'We demanded adequate allocation to ensure completion of the long-pending projects and expansion of railway network in the Maoist-affected areas.'
Last year, the Odisha government had offered to allocate land free of cost and its share of 50 per cent construction cost in Daspalla-Balangir stretch of 289-km Khurda Road-Balangir rail tracks, which was sanctioned in 1994-95. Work only on 32-km stretch has been over. Similarly, the government had proposed to bear 50 per cent construction cost of Jeypore-Nabarangpur rail line and 25 per cent of Jeypore-Malkangiri rail line.
The delegation also urged the Centre to develop Bhubaneswar as a world-class station, said Singh Deo.
Earlier, chief minister Naveen Patnaik had urged the Centre to recognise Odisha as one of the least-industrialised state and make an allocation of Rs 3,200 crore in the coming railway budget during his meeting with railway minister at New Delhi on December 8.
The Odisha government had sought Rs 1,470 crore for 14 railway lines. Besides, it had asked for an allocation of Rs 945 crore for doubling of 13 rail lines and Rs 210 crore for electrification of four lines.
'Railway network in Odisha remains inadequate in seven Naxalite-affected districts,' Naveen had told Prabhu. Stating that the poor railway network density has been hampering the pace of industrial development in the state, Naveen had said that Odisha contributed over Rs 14,000 crore revenue to the railways annually. 'But, the state receives a paltry allocation from the railways every year. During 2014-15, the state was allocated a meagre Rs 1,400 crore as against the requirement of Rs 3,160 crore,' he had said.
On November 27, Naveen had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to allocate at least Rs 3,200 crore for the state in the coming railway budget. He had stated that though the central government had initiated several ambitious projects, it had completely bypassed Odisha although 'some of the country's largest investment in steel, aluminum and power sectors are coming up here'.<>
Leader of Opposition Narasingha Mishra said: 'Odisha has been constantly neglected by the Centre in railways. This time, there is no claim by the House committee to allocate more funds. They have not even sent their claims through registered post after they had been denied an appointment. There is no guarantee that whatever the chief minister demands will be accepted by the Centre.'
In another development, the BJP state unit has requested the railway minister to introduce new trains between Bhubaneswar-Delhi, Bhubaneswar-Mumbai (Duronto Express) and an express train between Titilagarh and Allahabad. 'There is one train, Konark Express, running between Mumbai and Bhubaneswar. Similarly, there is the only train, Purushottam Express, that goes from Puri to Allahabad,' said BJP state president K.V. Singh Deo.
