CHENNAI: The railway ministry has slashed 70% of the funds earmarked for new railway lines in Tamil Nadu for 2024-25 fiscal compared to what was announced in the interim budget. The interim budget was presented in February, just a few months before the Lok Sabha election.
As per the Pink Book released by the railway ministry on Wednesday, eight new line projects in the state, including the Dharmapuri-Morappur (36 km) and Tindivanam-Nagari (180 km) lines, were allocated Rs 246 crore, a significant cut from the Rs 875 crore earmarked for the projects in the interim budget. Similarly, funding for the doubling of lines has also been substantially reduced.
This drastic reduction in funding comes amid war of words between the state and the centre over funding for Phase II of the Chennai Metro Rail project.
Though Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Budget on July 23, the railways delayed releasing the detailed fund allocation till the completion of the Parliament session, only to conceal the reduction in funds, claimed CPM MP from Madurai Su Venkatesan. He termed it an injustice to the state and accused the BJP of betraying Tamil Nadu.
However, a Southern Railway spokesperson denied a shortage of funds for projects, and insisted that no new line work would be delayed due to funding issues. “The funds mentioned in the interim budget serve as a guideline or token allocation during the election year. The final allocation can be reviewed based on project progress. Funds are allocated based on the work that can realistically be carried out within the year, with adjustments made as needed,” he explained.
The Rameswaram-Dhanushkodi new line project has received an allocation of Rs 56 crore, despite not being mentioned in the interim budget.
The long-delayed 184.45 km new railway line between Tindivanam and Nagari received Rs 350 crore in the interim budget, renewing the hopes for a new rail connectivity between northern districts of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. However, it received only Rs 153.27 crore in the final allocation. Similarly, the Dharmapuri-Morappur (36 km) project, which was inaugurated with much fanfare, saw its budget slashed from Rs 115 crore to Rs 49.37 crore. The Erode-Palani (91.5 km) new line project was allocated just Rs 1,000 instead of the Rs 100 crore previously announced.
Making matters worse, funding for the new doubling works for the Katpadi-Villupuram (160 km), Salem-Karur-Dindigul (160 km), and Erode-Karur (65 km) lines, which had each been allocated Rs 150 crore in the interim budget, was also reduced to just Rs 1,000 each.
R Pandiaraja, a member of the Zonal Rail Users Consultative Committee, termed the fund allocation as a scam by the union government. “It costs Rs 15 crore per km to lay a new line with electrification, excluding station buildings and other infrastructure. For the Madurai-Thoothukudi new line, Rs 1,500 crore is required. With only Rs 18 crore allocated for this year, just 1 kilometre can be laid,” he explained.
He further suggested that the railways disclose the percentage of land acquired for each project and allocate funds accordingly. “It seems the railways have little intention of completing the new line projects, except for one or two,” he added. A total of Rs 6,362 crore was allocated for the railway projects in TN this year.