Odisha gets Rs 5, 252 cr for railways in Union Budget

New Delhi/Bhubaneswar: The Centre has allocated Rs 5, 252 crore in the Union Budget -2018 for development of railway infrastructure in Odisha.

It was known after the Ministry of Railways tabled the demand for grants for expenditure in the Lok Sabha today.

Chief minister Naveen Patnaik had demanded Rs 6,500 crore this year for railways for the State.

Last year, the Union Government had allocated Rs 5,102 crore against the state's demand of Rs 5,870 crore.

The East Coast Railways ( ECoR) has received an allocation of Rs 6,563 crore in the budget.

At a press meet, ECoR General Manager Umesh Singh today informed that the Centre has allocated Rs 6,000 crore for different projects under its jurisdiction while Rs 563 crore will be spent on electrification of all railway lines of the division.

Khurdha-Bolangir line has received a budgetary allocation of Rs 625 crore while Rs 95 crore has been allocated for Jeypore-Malkangiri project, Singh said.

Similarly, the Centre has sanctioned Rs 150 crore for Jeypore-Nabarangpur line.

Budgetary allocation has also been made for modernisation of all stations under ECoR jurisdiction and upgradation of railway wagon factory at Mancheswar in Bhubaneswar, Singh added.

Reacting to the allocation of funds, the Odisha Commerce and Transport Minister Nrusingha Charan Sahu said "We had demanded Rs 6,500 crore for the development of railway sector in Odisha, but the Centre has allocated Rs 5, 252 crore. It is only a 2.5 per cent increase over the last year. Moreover, not a single penny has been given for new projects which we had demanded," he added.