BHUBANESWAR: Odisha Assembly Committee on Railways headed by Speaker Surya Narayan Patro met Railway Minister Piyush Goyal at Rail Bhavan in New Delhi on Tuesday and submitted a memorandum demanding allocation of over Rs 7,200 crore for Odisha in 2020-21 budget.
The Railway Minister has assured the delegation that funds will not be a constraint for completion of the ongoing projects, Minister for Commerce and Transportation Padmanabha Behera told this paper.
He, however, advised Odisha Government to sort out problems of land acquisition which is delaying implementation of several projects. The Railway Minister told the Odisha delegation that funds have been allocated in Railway Budget in a zone-wise manner and not State wise.
The delegation drew the Railway Minister’s attention to the reduced allocation to Odisha projects and requested him to increase provision for Khurda-Balangir railway line project. During a visit to Odisha, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced that the railway line will be completed in 2020-21.
The BJD had expressed disappointment over allocation of less funds in the Budget for railway infrastructure development. A meeting of the Assembly Committee headed by the Speaker was held here on Monday to discuss the requirement for railway infrastructure development in Odisha.
However, BJP Legislature Party’s chief whip Mohan Charan Majhi had walked out of the meeting alleging insult by a senior official. The BJP MLAs stayed away from the delegation that reached Delhi on Tuesday to meet the Railway Minister. The allocation for Odisha in 2020-21 budget has come down to Rs 4,373 crore from Rs 5,993 crore last year.