Naveen objects to railway budget size cut

The railway ministry had recently cut Rs 34 cr from the budgetary allocation of East Coast Railway

In a strongly worded letter to the Union railway minister, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Friday objected to the frequent reduction in the budgetary allocation for railway projects in Odisha and said such step would lead to discontentment among the people of the state.

“Such reductions time and again would result in delay in completion of railway projects and lead to the discontentment among the people,” Patnaik said in his letter addressed to C P Joshi, the railway minister.

The railway ministry had recently cut Rs 34 crore from the budgetary allocation of East Coast Railway. The money was meant to be spent for the ongoing B G Rail link projects which aimed to connect Khurda with Bolangir, Kalahandi with Jharsuguda and Talcher with Bimalagarh.

In June this year, the ministry had cut a sum of Rs 186 crore from the original budgetary allocation of Rs 723 crore sanctioned for 2012-13. The allocations were less than 30 per cent of Odisha's demand of Rs 2,345 crore.

The state government said, it is very disappointing that the central government, instead of considering the state’s demand for higher budgetary allocation, is repeatedly slashing the amount earmarked for the state in the original proposal.

“When the state of Odisha contributes revenue of more than Rs 7,500 crore annually to the Indian Railways, it is a matter of regret that Rs 220 crore has been reduced out of the paltry budgetary allocation,” he said.

“I strongly protest against this unilateral reduction in the budget for the state. I request you to take immediate steps for restoration of the original budgetary allocation,” he added.