Lalu no to funds for rail projects - SHANKAR MUKHERJEE
Lalu no to funds for rail projects
An all-party delegation, led by transport minister Subhas Chakraborty, has failed in its attempt to persuade the Centre to release funds for a string of railway projects in the city.
The railway ministry has conveyed to the 25-member Assembly delegation, which has been camping in Delhi since Wednesday, that the state would have to pump in half the cost if it wants the projects to be executed immediately. The state has thrown up its hands at the offer, citing a funds crunch.
For the Centre to bear the entire cost, the schemes would have to wait for the clearance of the railway board, which fixes its priority after going through requests from all states.
The delegation met railway minister Lalu Prasad on Thursday and submitted a memorandum, demanding a host of railway-linked urban transport projects.
The wishlist includes East-West Metro, extension of the existing Metro Railway to Barrackpore, an underground link between the airport and Dum Dum station, construction of 15 railway overbridges in the northern and southern suburbs and remodelling of the passenger dispersal system at Howrah and Sealdah stations. The total project cost has been pegged at Rs 8,000 crore.
Chakraborty tried to convince the railway minister about the importance of the projects in clearing Calcutta’s infrastructure bottlenecks. According to officials accompanying Chakraborty, the railway minister agreed to take up the projects if the state came up with 50 per cent of the cost.
But Chakraborty expressed inability to provide as much. “I told the railway minister that we are ready to share one-third of the cost of the Rs 4,000-crore East-West Metro, but he insisted on equal sharing,” Chakraborty said.
Railway officials cited the ministry’s policy that if any state wants to implement a railway-linked project on a priority basis, it has to share half the cost. “States like Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh have taken up several projects complying with the policy. We cannot make an exception for Bengal,” an official told the delegation.
The transport minister said he would discuss the matter with the chief minister.
The delegation also met civil aviation minister Praful Patel and urged him to take steps to renovate the Cooch Behar, Malda and Basudebpur (Purulia) airports.
An all-party delegation, led by transport minister Subhas Chakraborty, has failed in its attempt to persuade the Centre to release funds for a string of railway projects in the city.
The railway ministry has conveyed to the 25-member Assembly delegation, which has been camping in Delhi since Wednesday, that the state would have to pump in half the cost if it wants the projects to be executed immediately. The state has thrown up its hands at the offer, citing a funds crunch.
For the Centre to bear the entire cost, the schemes would have to wait for the clearance of the railway board, which fixes its priority after going through requests from all states.
The delegation met railway minister Lalu Prasad on Thursday and submitted a memorandum, demanding a host of railway-linked urban transport projects.
The wishlist includes East-West Metro, extension of the existing Metro Railway to Barrackpore, an underground link between the airport and Dum Dum station, construction of 15 railway overbridges in the northern and southern suburbs and remodelling of the passenger dispersal system at Howrah and Sealdah stations. The total project cost has been pegged at Rs 8,000 crore.
Chakraborty tried to convince the railway minister about the importance of the projects in clearing Calcutta’s infrastructure bottlenecks. According to officials accompanying Chakraborty, the railway minister agreed to take up the projects if the state came up with 50 per cent of the cost.
But Chakraborty expressed inability to provide as much. “I told the railway minister that we are ready to share one-third of the cost of the Rs 4,000-crore East-West Metro, but he insisted on equal sharing,” Chakraborty said.
Railway officials cited the ministry’s policy that if any state wants to implement a railway-linked project on a priority basis, it has to share half the cost. “States like Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh have taken up several projects complying with the policy. We cannot make an exception for Bengal,” an official told the delegation.
The transport minister said he would discuss the matter with the chief minister.
The delegation also met civil aviation minister Praful Patel and urged him to take steps to renovate the Cooch Behar, Malda and Basudebpur (Purulia) airports.
posted by Sandip K. Dasverma at
9:11 PM
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