VIJAYAWADA : Andhra Pradesh has been allocated a staggering amount of Rs 9,138 crore for the development of railways for the financial year 2024-25, said Union Minister for Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw.
Addressing mediapersons in New Delhi on Thursday, he said between 2009 and 2014, AP was allocated Rs 886 crore only and that was for the combined State of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
“Now, for Andhra Pradesh alone, Rs 9,138 crore has been allocated, which is 10 times of what was allocated for five years for the combined State earlier. Since 2014, allocation to the State has been increased year on year,” he highlighted.
Indian Railways has been allocated Rs 2,52,000 crore for the financial year 2024-25 and the focus is on the Prime Minister’s vision of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’.
Efforts are being made to increase the capacity in railways. As part of it, three major economic railway corridor projects will be executed and as a result 40,000 km of tracks will be laid in the next 6-8 years, he explained.
The total investment for development of railways in Andhra Pradesh is Rs 68,059 crore. About 97% of track electrification has been completed in the State. Rail track of 246 km length is being laid in the region every year compared to just 70 km per year during 2009-14.
To facilitate speedy road transportation, 709 railway over bridges and railway under bridges have been constructed. Over 109 One Station One Product stalls have been set up at the railway stations across the State.
In all, 72 railway stations in AP are being upgraded as part of the Amrit Bharat Station scheme, he said.
As regards to Visakhapatnam Railway Zone, he said the State government was asked for 53 acres, and once the land is handed over to the Centre, the works will commence. The DPR for the new railway zone and the zonal headquarters has already been approved.
“All that is now needed is for the State to allot the required 53 acres. On the very day, the land is allotted, the works will commence,” he asserted.
GVMC ‘handed over’ land to railways for new zone
The Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) has already handed over 52.22 acres of land to the railways on January 2, 2024, though Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Thursday stated that they are waiting for Andhra Pradesh to hand over the said land for setting up of the separate railway zone with Visakhapatnam as headquarters.
According to sources in the State government, the GVMC had taken over 26.11 acres belonging to the railways for the development of Vizag city. In lieu of the lands it had taken over from the railways, the GVMC offered 52.22 acres at Mudasarlova.
An agreement to this effect took place between the GVMC and the Indian Railways in 2013. Later, in the AP Reorganisation Act, the Visakhapatnam Railway Zone was made one of the assurances.
Here it should be noted that between 2014 and 2019, the TDP government did not make any attempts to hand over the land to the railways.
The reason is not yet clear. When the railways tried to take over those lands, a few people obstructed it claiming that they had pattas.
On November 12, 2022, the issue was raised during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit. Visakhapatnam District Collector took over the issue and resolved the litigation related to the land and the GVMC Commissioner wrote to the railways on January 2, 2024 to inspect the land and take its possession