The Modi government has allocated an unprecedented ₹20,000 crore for various railway works across Telangana and had also cleared another ₹30,000 crore worth of railway projects in the last nine years, said Union Minister for Tourism, Culture and Development of Northeast Region and State BJP president G. Kishan Reddy on Sunday.
The funds have been sanctioned for new lines, doubling, third lines, electrification, railway road overbridges and several others. The funds allocation this year alone from the Railway Budget was ₹4,418 crore for works in Telangana alone and this was 17 times more when compared to 2014-15, he said.
He was participating in the nationwide foundation stone laying ceremony of the Amriti Bharat Stations Scheme (ABSS) by Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually of revamping 508 stations at a total cost of about ₹24,000 crore, of which 21 stations in Telangana (₹894 crore cost estimate) have been chosen in the first phase, at the Nampally railway station.
Governor Dr. Tamilisai Soundarajan, SCR GM Arun Kumar Jain, former MLA Ch. Ramachandra Reddy and senior railway officials were present. The Centre had sanctioned ₹8,494 crore for 12 new railway projects, including 731 km of new line, doubling/tripling and six electrification works to an extent of 809 km worth ₹969 crore. Another 33 proposed projects are undergoing survey to an extent of 2,407 km.
The Secunderabad MP said unmanned level crossings to the tune of 121 were eliminated in Oct. 2018 and works are underway to tackle the manned crossings too with the road over/under bridges. About 28 new road under bridges, 38 foot over bridges and extension of 79 platforms were taken up in the last nine years.
The CCTV camera network has been completed in 17 stations (313 CCTVs) and another 34 stations are to be brought under the network with 1,160 CCTVs - while 174 main stations got wi-fi connectivity.
Mr. Kishan Reddy also compared the railway projects and funds to the previous Congress-led regime and claimed 335 new lines were laid during the Modi rule whereas it was 122 km under UPA. There were 239 doubling, tripling and quadrupling in recent times when no such work took place under the previous government. If 755 km was electrified between 2005-14, it was 1,554 km till 2023.
The Minister also reminded about the works sanctioned for Secunderabad railway station modernisation - ₹715 crore, Cherlapalli terminal - ₹221 crore, Kacheguda station - ₹375 crore, railway manufacturing unit at Kazipet - ₹521 crore, and others.
The Centre was keen to take up the ₹26,000 crore 340-km regional ring road and a railway line alongside, but the government here has been tardy in not taking up land acquisition despite offering to fund 50% of the land cost, he charged.
