Odisha to demand Rs 5,000 crore allocation in railway budget

Seeking an allocation of Rs 5,000 crore for the development of railway network, the Odisha Assembly's House Committee is all set to meet Union Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu on January 6 and place the state's demands ahead of the Railways Budget, 2016-17.
The Committee on Railways headed by Speaker Niranjan Pujari will meet Prabhu on Wednesday and demand Rs 5,000 crore allocation for the state, an official said.
The House Committee's visit to the national capital is coming a month after a BJD MPs delegation meeting Suresh Prabhu over budget allocation to Odisha.
While a demand of Rs 1,050 crore will be made for ongoing rail projects in the state, Rs 2,270 crore and Rs 335 crore will be proposed for double line and electrification works respectively, sources said adding the committee also wants Rs 200 crore for setting up of special purpose vehicle (SPV) for rail projects for coal evacuation and umbrella SPV for general rail projects in the state.

The delegation, which also want to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss the matter, is yet to receive a confirmation from the PMO, they said.
Earlier on December 2, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu asking for a Rs 5,000-crore package for the state.
The chief minister in his letters to the Centre pointed out that though the state generated revenue worth over Rs 14,000 crore for Railways during 2014-15, the railway route length and rail density in the state are well below the national average and substantially lower compared to the neighbouring states.

In the 2015-16 railway budget, Odisha had received an allocation of Rs 2,514.07 crore against its demand for Rs 3,200 crore. The allocation for the state in the rail budget was 77.04 per cent higher than the Rs 1,420 crore the state received in 2014-15.