Several Railway Projects under progress in Northeast

On 1 April 2021, projects costing Rs.74,485 crore for 2,011 km length falling fully/partly in North Eastern Region are under the different stage of planning/ approval/ execution, out of which 321 km length has been commissioned and an expenditure of Rs. 26,874 crore incurred up to March 2021. These include-

• 14 New Line Projects covering a length of 1,181 km at a cost of

Rs 56,553 crore, out of which 253 km length has been commissioned and an expenditure of Rs 23,994 crore incurred up to March 2021.

• 6 Doubling Projects covering a length of 830 km at a cost of

Rs 17,932 crore, out of which 68 km length has been commissioned and an expenditure of Rs 2,880 crore incurred up to March 2021.

During 2014-21, 1356 km projects (270 km of New Line, 972 km of Gauge Conversion, and 114 km of Doubling) falling fully/partly in the North Eastern Region have been commissioned at an average rate

193.71 km per year, which is 94% more than average commissioning during 2009-14 (66.6 km/year).

For the financial year 2021-22, a total budget outlay of Rs 6,913 crore has been provided for infrastructure and safety works falling fully/ partly in the North Eastern Region, which is 226% more concerning the average annual budget outlay of 2009-14 (Rs 2,122 crore/year). The average annual Budget allocation for these projects during 2014-19 has been enhanced to Rs 5,531 crore per year from Rs 2,122 crore per year during 2009-14, which is 161% more than the average annual budget outlay of 2009-14 and budget outlay of Rs 4,669 crore was provided for these projects for the financial year 2020-21 which is 120% more than the average annual budget outlay of 2009-14.

Funds are allotted project-wise on yearly basis, based on requirements projected by the Zonal Railways depending upon the progress of the work subject to availability of funds.

This information was given by the Minister of Railways, Communications, and Electronics & Information Technology, Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha on 28 July 2021.