KOLKATA: Several railway projects announced by Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee during her tenure as the railway minister have been sent to the ‘Rs 1,000 allocation bracket’ by the Centre, triggering apprehension that some projects may get shelved. Mamata’s 20 new rail connectivity projects have received a token allotment of Rs 1,000 annually
“When the Ministry of Railways is no longer interested in a project but doesn’t want to shut it down officially, only a token allotment of Rs 1,000 is made annually for it in the budget. There are apprehensions that some of these projects may get shelved. So far as new projects are concerned, there seems little possibility.
The ongoing projects which have a bright future get proper allocations,’’ said a railway board official.
Several production units, for which Mamata had allotted a few thousand crores in funds, have also been mentioned in the Rs 1 lakh allocation category.
Sending 20 new projects and 10 upgradation ventures to the Rs 1,000 allocation bracket indicates the government was not at all interested in these projects and in near future all these might get shelved, added the official.
Around 10 projects doubling railway tracks were also allotted Rs 1,000. Mamata, during her tenure as the railway minister from 2009 to 2011, had flagged off a series of new projects to connect parts of rural Bengal with railway tracks in rural Bengal, from north to south.
Other than the projects in the state, a new venture to connect Digha in East Midnapore with Jaleshwar in Odisha has also been sent to the Rs 1,000 category.
“Our CM started the projects to ensure hassle-free transport for the poor and common people of rural Bengal. If the Centre shelves or scraps the projects, people of the state will be deprived. Sending her dream ventures, as the railway minister, to Rs 1,000 allocation bracket shows how little the central government cares about the people of Bengal,’’ said a senior Trinamool minister in Mamata’s cabinet.
Rail projects sent to ‘Rs 1,000 bracket’
Kaliaganj to Buniadpur, Digha to Jaleshwar, Azimganj to Murshidabad, Hasnabad to Hingalganj and Balurghat to Hili.