Former Union Minister Srikant Jena described the funds allocated to Odisha in the current Rail Budget as ‘meagre’ compared to the annual revenue the State pays to the Railways.
Jena said the current allocation of Rs 5,600 crore in the Budget for Odisha is just in pen and paper, while the actual allotment is Rs 3,000 crore as Odisha had returned Rs 2,000 crore last year because of failure to spend in various rail works.
Saying that the East Coast Railway Zone was established in Odisha 23 years back when HD Deve Gowda was the Prime Minister and Ram Vilas Paswan was the Railway Minister, where he himself was a member of the Union Cabinet, Jena said the Haridaspur-Paradip, Talcher-Sukinda, Khurdha Road-Balangir rail lines were approved by the Centre at that time and the works for various other the projects had been completed in the State.
He lamented that the allocations made for Odisha this year will not be sufficient to either complete the old projects or take up any new projects.
“Odisha is giving Rs 20,000-Rs 25,000 crore revenue to the Railways per year but is getting Rs 3,000- Rs 5,000 which is too less.
Similarly, in the current Railway Budget there is no provision for new railway line; only some allocations have been made to take up a few old
projects,” told Jena. He demanded a rail coach factory, modern amenities and sports complex by the Railways in Odisha as it has done in other Sattes, besides medical colleges in Keonjhar and Rayagada. Jena also urged the State Government to take over the rail transportation works by setting up the Rail Corporation. He said this would fetch at least Rs 10,000 crore profit to the State, besides creating job opportunities for many Odia youths.