K'taka to release additional Rs 150 cr for rail projects

Bangalore-Mysore track-doubling work to be completed by 2014

In an effort to expedite the work on completion of pending railway projects in the state, the Karnataka government will release Rs 150 crore soon towards its share. The projects are taken up on a cost-sharing basis with the Ministry of Railways.

Chief minister Siddaramaiah, after chairing a meeting to review pending railway projects with the officials of the South Western Railway, Infrastructure Development department, Revenue and other departments concerned, told reporters the government had already released Rs 100 crore and another Rs 150 crore would be released in October.

The ministry is undertaking 18 railway projects in Karnataka. Siddaramaiah directed deputy commissioners to expedite the land acquisition process for these.

He said the government had till now spent Rs 1,500 crore on railway projects. The government had also agreed to take up 10 projects on a cost sharing basis. In addition to the Rs 373 crore set aside in the state Budget 2013-14, the government would have to provide another Rs 200 crore as its share as Railway Minister M Mallikarjuna Kharge had announced additional funding for such projects in the state, Siddaramaiah said. The Railways has provided Rs 328.84 crore in 2013-14 for the projects in Karnataka.

State infrastructure development Santosh Lad said, the state would be given within a week a list of projects to the Railways that needed to be taken up on a priority basis. The Railways had been executing around 100 km networks a year. Kharge had instructed the Railways to increase it to 180-200 km a year in the state.

Officials said the government had taken steps to speed up land acquisition and 2,500 acres were acquired and handed over to the Railways in the last three years.

The state government also urged the Railways to focus on completing and operationalising ongoing projects that are nearing completion such as Kolar-Chikkaballapura gauge conversion, Kadur-Chikmagalur and Kottur-Harihara new lines.

Officials expressed concern that the burden of cost sharing was high and uncertain. While initial approval for projects is based on line estimates, their cost gets escalated. The fund requirement for already committed projects is around Rs 10,000 crore in addition to land acquisition cost. The Railways should encourage public-private-partnership when PPP policy had been announced, the officials said.

They also said steps had been taken to establish a railway coach factory in Kolar district, for which the state government had agreed to give land free of cost. Lad said the track-doubling (139 km) work between Bangalore and Mysore would be completed towards the end of 2014.