Odisha raises concern over reduced budgetary allocation for

The Odisha government on Thursday expressed concern over reduction in allocation for railway projects in the state in the Union budget for the 2020-21 fiscal and will request the Centre to increase the outlay.

State commerce and transport minister Padmanabha Behera said Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik's suggestions have not been heeded in the Union budget.

"We are disappointed. Only one new line has been proposed while the allocation in state's railway projects for 2020-21 fiscal is less than expectation. We will request Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Railway Minister Piyush Goyal to rethink the budgetary allocation," Behera told reporters here.

The allocation of Rs 4,373 crore for different railway projects in the state for 2020-21 is around 27 per cent less than that of the last fiscal when the state had received Rs 5,993 crore, which included Rs 1,400 crore invested by NTPC for construction of Jharsuguda-Barapali coal corridor.

Though the railways department has claimed that adequate allocations are made for important projects, the budget included a token allotment of Rs 1 lakh for 241-km-long Sambalpur-Gopalpur new line via Phulbani, which will be constructed at an estimated cost of Rs 2,957 crore, the state minister said.

The project awaits the approval of Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs and NITI Aayog.

The ruling BJD also said the cut in budgetary allocation for different railway projects in the state is a "cause of concern".

"The reduction in overall allocation for the state is a cause of serious concern as Odisha is one of the least rail coverage states in the country though it contributes maximum revenue," BJD spokesperson and MP Sasmit Patra said.

He said no new railway project has been announced in sectors that were suggested by the state with a commitment to share cost.

"We expected to get sanction for projects like Puri-Konark, Bargarh-Nuapada, Jajpur-Ardi-Dhamra, Chakulia- Buramara, Gunupur-Therubali new lines where the state has committed assistance," Patra said.

The ruling party, however, welcomed the Gopalpur- Sambalpur proposed line. This will be a big economic booster to the area if executed in time, Patra said.

Opposition Congress, however, blamed both the state and the central government for the reduction in allocation for railway development in Odisha.

"The state government has failed to make proper demand in getting more allocations," said Congress MLA Suresh Routray.

After approval of the NITI Aayog on proposed Sambalpur-Gopalpur new line, the allocation for Odisha will certainly increase, BJP spokesperson Golak Mohapatra said.