Bhubaneswar, Feb 2 (PTI) The Centre has allocated Rs 10,536 crore for Odisha’s railway infrastructure development for the 2024-25 fiscal, which is Rs 524 crore more than the amount sanctioned in last year’s Budget, official sources said.
Noting that the annual average outlay for Odisha in the railway sector for the last three years has been around Rs 10,000 crore, an official note said the average outlay for the state between 2009 and 2014 was about Rs 838 crore. The size of allocations for the state has roughly increased 12 times.
Official data revealed that in 2023-24, a total of 473km of new tracks were laid in Odisha. Contrasting this with the period between 2014 and 2024, where an average of 206km of new tracks were laid per year, and the period of 2009-2014, during which only 53km were laid, demonstrates a significant increase in recent years.
Under the five new works sanctioned as part of the Plan Head, the upgradation of 35 railway electrification projects will be undertaken within the jurisdiction of the East Coast Railway (ECoR). An allocation of Rs 269.11 crore has been made in the new budget for these works.
In terms of infrastructure development, the ECoR has been allotted Rs 11,495.90 crore. Although this allocation is 0.2% less than the previous year’s allocation of Rs 11,513.74 crore, there is an increase of Rs 1,127.06 crore in budgetary resources compared to the previous year.
Regarding major budgetary allocations for ongoing important new line projects, notable allocations include Rs 1,350 crore for the Khurda Road-Bolangir New Line (289 km), Rs 500 crore for the Talcher-Bimlagarh New Line (154 km), Rs 230 crore for the Jeypore-Malkangiri New Line (130 km), and Rs 235 crore for the Jeypore-Nabarangpur New Line (38 km).
Furthermore, under the Janajatiya Gaurav Corridor, the central government has allocated Rs 300 crore, while the doubling project for the Banspani-Daitari-Tomka-Jakhapura route (180 km) is set to receive Rs 100 crore. PTI AAM AAM MNB
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