BHUBANESWAR: The Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) on Thursday described the 2016-17 Railway Budget as disappointing.
“The budget presented by Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu has no new scheme, project or new train for Odisha,” OPCC president Prasad Harichandan told mediapersons here.
As many of the projects have been announced on PPP mode, there is an apprehension of privatisation of railways, Harichandan said.
The OPCC chief also criticised the State Government for its lack of commitment for development of railway infrastructure in Odisha. “When other States demanded allocation of Rs 25,000 crore to Rs 30,000 crore, Odisha was satisfied with a demand of Rs 5000 crore only,” he said.
Harichandan alleged that the budget is completely silent on projects which were sanctioned during the UPA Government for Odisha. There is no mention of developing Bhubaneswar station with world class facilities and Adarsh railway station project, he said.
While the Railway Minister has proposed expenditure of Rs 90,000 crore to run bullet train from Mumbai to Ahmedabad, seven districts of Odisha are without railway network, he said.
“As price of crude oil has gone down in international market, it was expected of the Railway Minister to bring down the fare. But the Minister has disappointed the people of the country,” Harichandan added.