Mamata disappoints Orissa, doles out Rs 715 cr

Economic Times, July 4, 2009

BHUBANESWAR: Orissa once again got a raw deal from the railways with the budgetary allocation for the resurgent state coming down from Rs 949.34
crore in the previous year’s railway budget to Rs 715.22 crore this year.

The Naveen Patnaik government had demanded for allocation of Rs 1520 crore to speed up rail infrastructure in which the state has been lagging.

For a state, which provides revenue to the Indian Railways in excess of Rs 5000 crore, the railway minister, Mamata Banerjee seems to have put a stop to the development in the key rail infrastructure with allocation for doubling of some 18 lines coming down from Rs 616.2 crore to Rs 390 crore.

“I’m disappointed to find that the funds for railway projects have been reduced considerably from last year for Orissa. In 2008-09, it was Rs 949.34 crore. This year, it is Rs 715.22 crore”, chief minister Naveen Patnaik said here.

Mr Patnaik, particulary, expressed his anguish for the railway minister keeping silent on the rail infrastructure development in the underdeveloped areas. “In the railway budget proposal for 2009-10, we proposed for the sanction of a survey for the construction of North-South and East-West corridor to counter Naxalalism. This has not been done”, he regretted.

The railways have sanctioned survey for Banspani – Bimlagarh – Barusuan, Bolangir – Nuapada, Digha – Jaleswar, Dantewada – Malkangiri and Sambalpur – Berhampur.

Mr Patnaik further pointed out that though the state had demanded for setting up of a coach factory in the state. “Instead, a new coach factory is now being set up in Kolkata, which already has a great many rail facilities”, he remarked.

The state had sought 1 new train against which only six trains have been given. “As against our proposal for the increase in frequency of five trains, only one train has been allotted”, the chief minister lamented adding that the railway minister did not bother to allot a single coaching depots or introduction of new EMU or DMU.

“The East Coast Railways has always given the highest revenue to the Indian railways. Unfortunately, it has once again been meted out injustice by the railway ministry. The people of Orissa have been deprived of Mamata Banerjee’s mamata (love and compassion),” the BJD secretary general and a senior minister in the Naveen Patnaik government, Damodar Rout said.

Former Union minister Brajakishore Tripathy also echoed in similar voice and said the railway budget did not fulfill the expectation of Orissa.
“I don’t find anything encouraging for Orissa in the railway budget. The promise of making Bhubaneswar a world class railway station and converting Puri and Cuttack as model stations were old ones. The state has got only one new train while there are no commitments on completion of the ongoing project,” Mr Tripathy said.

Union minister of state for fertilsier and chemicals, however, described the rail budget as “good one” for Orissa. “The state has got several sops like Duronto Train non-stop train services from Bhubaneswar to New Delhi weekly once. Bhubaneswar and Puri has been included in the list of 50 world class stations. New lines for the underdeveloped regions in KBK districts have also been sanctioned”, he asserted adding that budgetary allocation does not reflect the railway ministry’s activities in a state.