In view of a declined financial position of the Railways and the Ministry focusing on completion of pending projects, Odisha may not get new rail line project in the Railway Project to be presented in the Parliament on Thursday, views an expert.
According to Dilip Kumar Samantray, Managing Director of Angul Sukinda Railway ltd, at present the annual revenue of Railways is about Rs 1.5 lakh crore only and out of that nearly Rs 1 lakh crore come from freight services. Operating Ratio, a key metric used by Railways to gauge its financial health, has detoriated to 94%, which means the Railways spend 94 paisa to earn one rupee.
With this being financial position, the Centre would focus on completion of pending projects than announcing new ones. “As far as Odisha is concerned, going by the overall trend and financial position of Railway no new rail line project for Odisha may be announced on Thursday,” he said in a statement.
However, he said special emphasis may be given on early completion of important ongoing railway projects in the State. “Adequate fund is due this time for the long cherished Khordha -Balangir new line as the State Government has agreed for providing required land on free of cost basis as well as to bear 50 per cent of the cost of the project,” he said adding tht this was the first of its kind gesture for Odisha Government to boost of the expansion of rail net-work in the state.
Similarly, considerable allotment is expected for Talcher-Bimlagarh rail line, as the construction work has picked up the momentum. Besides, two other new rail line projects, Angul-Sukinda and Haridashpur are being executed under PPP (Public Private Participation) mode and Railways have already released their due shares through Rail Vikash Nigam limited.
“With land and fund already available, these two lines could be completed in near future. Further, the State Government has agreed to participate in a SPV (Special Purpose Vehicle) for expeditious expansion of rail net-work in the State,” he said.