Refuting the claims of Hamirpur MP, Anurag Thakur, on the enhancement of fund allocation for the State by the BJP Government in Central Government, Himachal Pradesh Government on Friday said that the Union Ministry of Railways has made a token provision of Rs 1 crore only for the Una-Hamirpur line in 2017-18 Budget, which will cost Rs 2,850 crore. In a statement on Friday, a spokesman of HP Government said that the Railways has not done detailed survey that where from the rail line will pass. The spokesman said that the State has been taking up the issue of construction of various railway lines in HP like Nagal-Talwara, Chandigarh-Baddi, Bhanupalli-Bilaspur-Beri from time to time with the Ministry of Railways. However, the progress of construction of these rail lines is very slow in the State, he added. Just a week back, praising the Central Government for sanctioning Rs 400 crore for railway construction in the State, Anurag Thakur, had claimed that BJP Government had been giving utmost priority to rail and road connectivity and it had enhanced central funding for rail connectivity in the State.
The MP from Hamirpur had also claimed that Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu had got the survey done in a record time for the Una-Hamirpur rail line while the State Government in its official communication has said that the survey was yet to be done. He said that the Central Government had sanctioned Rs 100 crore for Una–Talwara and Rs 250 crore for Bhanupali–Bilaspur – Beri link in this financial year. Even in the Railway Budget 2016-17 Rs 310 crore and Rs 355 crore were sanctioned in 2015-16, he had claimed.