Budget 2017: Railway projects worth Rs 13,500 crore sanctioned for NE

The Railways has sanctioned projects worth Rs 13,500 crore for the North East in this year's budget, Union Minister of State for Railways Rajen Gohain said on Friday.

"Railway Ministry has big plans for the North East. Several new projects amounting to about Rs 13,500 crore have been sanctioned in this year's budget including new lines, bridges and an elevated rail tract project from Kamakhya to New Guwahati at a cost of Rs 3,062 crore", Gohain said on the second day of the infrastructure development conference ConMac here.

These steps would not only help to boost the infrastructure of this region but also generate employment for the youth through several spin-off industries, he said.

A bottled drinking water plant under the Rail Neer brand at Jagiroad in Assam and a high-end North East Safari Train was being envisaged, the minister added.

North East Council (NEC) member C K Das highlighted the infrastructural gaps in the region as compared to other regions of the country and spoke about the initiative of NEC for infrastructure development in the region.

North East Frontier Railway has identified the critical projects in the region and the progress over the last few years has been satisfactory, NF Railway's General Manager (Construction) H K Jaggi said.

Border Roads Organisation's (BRO's) Additional Director General S S Porwal said that with six months project implementation window in the region, an efficient management system would result in high level of performance and greater confidence in the reliability of results.

The conference has been organised in partnership with Indian Construction Equipment's Manufacturers' Association (ICEMA).