Govt Earmarks Over Rs 6,900 Crore In Budget For Bolstering Railway Infrastructure In Northeastern States

With the focus on developing the railway infrastructure in the northeastern states, the Union Budget has allocated a sum of Rs 6,913 crore for projects covering over 2,000 km in the region, according to the Pink Book released on Wednesday.

West Bengal which goes to the polls this year has been allocated Rs 6,636 crore where ongoing projects include 53 new lines, gauge conversion, doubling projects costing Rs 48,275 crore for 4,463 km.

Kerala which is also scheduled for election this year has been allocated funds to the tune of Rs 871 crore for ongoing projects which include nine new lines, doubling projects costing Rs 8,799 crore for 458 km.

The poll-bound state of Tamil Nadu has been allocated Rs 2,972 crore -- ongoing projects include 27 new lines, gauge conversion, doubling projects costing Rs 30,961 crore for 3,128 km.

Among the states, Uttar Pradesh has been allocated the highest amount of Rs 12,696 crore for ongoing projects which include 83 new lines, gauge conversion, and doubling projects which will be completed at a cost of Rs 96,697 core and covering a distance of 7,143 km.

In the northeast states, ongoing projects include 19 new lines, doubling projects, covering 2,008 km.

The highest allocation among the states after Uttar Pradesh are for Madhya Pradesh (Rs 7,700 crore) followed by Maharashtra (Rs 7,107 crore).

Andhra Pradesh got Rs 5,812 crore, Chhattisgarh Rs 3,650 crore, Bihar Rs 5,150 crore, Gujarat Rs 4,418 crore, Haryana Rs 1,201 crore, Himachal Pradesh Rs 770 crore, Jharkhand Rs 4,079 crore, Karnataka Rs 3,897 crore, Punjab Rs 2,262 crore, Odisha Rs 5,528 crore, Rajasthan Rs 4,986 crore and Delhi Rs 310 crore.

The Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir has been given Rs 4,294 crore for ongoing projects which include three new lines, doubling projects covering 481 km.

(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.)