Union Railway Minister Sadananda Gowda provided the much-needed fillip to rail projects pending or continuing on various stages in Jharkhand. The Minister after his maiden visit to the State held a high-level meeting with officials of the South Eastern Railway (SER) and reviewed the bottlenecks coming in the completion of as many as six projects ongoing in the State. He also asked
Chief Minister Hemant Soren to resolve the issue of renewal of mining leases of Iron producing companies in the state so that the heavy loss of revenue
incurring to the Railways could be checked.
“I recognise the contribution coming from Jharkhand in the form of revenue to the railways and feel that the State deserves much more in return. I have received requests form different quarters and also in the meeting with the Chief Minister today. I don’t like to see railways projects from political angles and assure you that Jharkhand would get its dues in days to come,” he said the Union Minister.
“I had a meeting with the Chief Minister where several issues were discussed at large; I asked him to expedite the process of renewing the lease licenses of SAIl and Tata must be completed soon,” said Gowda.
According to the minister, earlier 11 racks of iron ore were being loaded from Jharkhand which has come down to almost nil after the Supreme Court ruled that deemed extension could have a two-year ceiling in the case of first renewals, leading to heavy losses to the Railways. As many as 12 working iron ore mines had to close their operations since September 4 after the state government order banned operations in areas where leases were pending for second and subsequent renewals in the wake of the Supreme Court order.
later addressing the media the Minister ensured that Jharkhand will get more than the others as it generates more revenue for the Railways. He also added that the Modi government is serious on the security of railways and have decided make fresh recruitments of 21,000 Railway Police Force personnel.
“As safety and security is the primary concern of this government at the Centre. As many as 17,000 personnel will be recruited along with 4000 women constables in Railway Police Force,” Gowda said.
In the meeting with Chief Minister Hemant Soren he is said to have got a list of demands which include speedy completion of the projects stuck due to various reasons in the State. “In most of the case the Center has delayed its contribution which has made the cost escalating. The CM urged the Union Rail Minister to fund the projects in the State on priority basis,” said an official present in the meeting.
Work for just 348 km has been completed related to the six projects started in 2002 to build 565 km rail lines. The CM mentioned that this had raised the cost from original Rs 1997 crore to Rs 5775 crore and the State Government had already allocated Rs 2219 crore.
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Gowda gives fillip to rail plans, security
The CM also informed the Minister about eight points identified to fertilizer and also water pipelines projects for rural areas. He also sought for making operation the Buramara-Chakulia line revival of Rukxa-Buramara line so that port facility with Paradeep can be availed by the State. Besides, the CM demanded to run Duranto Express from Jharkhand and along with Garib Rath daily.
The Union Minister assured him of all possible help in the light of the resources available and asked the Government to sent a recommendation to the Ministry. He also instructed rail officials to keep the Ministry updated about the share received from the State Government on the projects.
Gowda, in order to remove the bottlenecks for a speedy implementation of Railway projects in the state deputed one official of Indian Railways who will sit together with the representative of the state government every fortnightly to discuss the problems arising in smooth implementation of railway projects. Gowda has also asked Soren to appoint one of his officials to coordinate with the Railway counterpart.
Gowda further said that two parent projects have been identified in the state under which third line from Simi – Gamharia and Gamharia – Adityapur will be constructed in order to promote trade in the area.
Gowda also said that the feasibility and economic viability of running bullet trains in the Country are being studied. He further said that at least four Railway Universities will be opened soon in the country like China where Railways could be studied properly in the country.
Referring to the problem of mediators in railway bookings, Gowda said that more and more IT initiatives are being taken to resolve the issue of brokers and agents.
“The problem of brokers and mediators could only be resolved through the adoption of Information Technology into the railway booking system,” Gowda said.
The Union Minister also revealed that the government is planning to rope in private players to carry out railway projects on PPP mode in order to expedite the Railway projects.