| OUTCOME BUDGET: Plan to exceed physical targets in tracks, rolling stock.
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| The railways have spent over 66 per cent of their revised annual Plan expenditure (Rs 25,646.92 crore) of 2006-7. It spent Rs 17,036.16 crore till December 2006, according to the “Outcome and Performance Budget,” presented by Railway Minister Lalu Prasad for the first time.
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| The separate budget will provide information on actual performance of the railways vis-a-vis revenue, expenditure and physical targets.
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| On new railway lines, the railways have spent Rs 1,883.96 crore out of a revised outlay of Rs 2,524.64 crore. On gauge conversion, Rs 1,183 crore out of the outlay of Rs 1,901 crore.
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| On rolling stock Rs 4,089 crore out of an outlay of Rs 6,661.39 crore. On track renewal, the railways have invested Rs 2,805 crore, compared to the annual revised outlay of Rs 3,418 crore.
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| However, in some areas the gap between the revised outlay and the actual spending till December 2006 is large. For instance, on investments in PSUs under the railways, only Rs 552 crore of the revised outlay of Rs 2,028 crore have been spent.
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| On signaling and telecommunications, virtually half the revised outlay of Rs 1,345 crore remains unutilised, and that is also the case with electrification projects and bridge works.
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| Even money allocated for staff amenities, quarters and passenger amenities remains largely unutilised. And despite the new thrust on information technology, only Rs 54 crore of the allocated Rs 272 crore have been spent.
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| The report justifies to the low utilisation of funds on signaling. It cites the telecom shortage of contractors as the key problem. The slow progress of bridge works, according to the report, is due to an increase in steel prices and non-availability of cement and steel.
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| The railways expect to exceed the physical targets earmarked in the Tenth Five Year Plan (terminal year 2006-7) in at least eight of the 11 parameters set out by the Planning Commission.
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| The report says the railways will exceed physical targets in gauge conversion, track renewal, railway electrification, new wagons, coaches, and diesel and electric locomotives among others at the end of the 10th Plan.
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| The report also points out that the originating passenger projection has surpassed in the fourth year of the Plan, and in 2006-7, 6,242 million originating passengers corresponding to 683 billion passenger kilometers is likely to be achieved, which is 12 per cent above the original projections in the 10th Plan. |
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