During last three years 32 Surveys having a total length of 1,467 km falling fully/partly in Odisha have been completed

Newdelhi:9/8/23:The Railway projects are sanctioned Zonal Railway wise and not State-wise, District wise or area wise as the Railways’ projects may span across State/District/Area boundaries. Sanction of new railway lines in areas which are not connected by Railway network including Janjatiya Gaurav Corridor is a continuous and ongoing process of Indian Railways.

In order to push the rail infrastructure in tribal dominated regions and to promote the rail connectivity in such regions in coming years, an Umbrella work of New Line as “Janjatiya Gaurav Corridor” costing ₹70,000 Crore has been included in the Budget for FY 2023-24 subject to requisite Government approvals.  Detailed Project Reports(DPRs) of the projects identified under “Janjatiya Gaurav Corridor” including those falling fully/partly in State of Odisha have been taken up which includes consultations with various stakeholders including State Governments, public representatives, organisations/rail users/tribal people etc.

The projects are appraised based on the parameters brought out in the Detailed Project Report (DPR) after firming up of various parameters including traffic projections and socio-economic benefits.

During the last three years i.e. FY 2020-21, FY 2021-22, FY 2022-23 and current FY 2023-24, 32 Surveys (19 New Line and 13 Doubling) having a total length of 1,467 km falling fully/partly in the State of Odisha have been completed.

New line projects including those in “Janjatiya Gaurav Corridor” are taken forward on the basis of remunerativeness, last mile connectivity, missing links and alternate routes, augmentation of congested/saturated lines, socio-economic considerations etc. depending upon throw forward of ongoing projects, overall availability of funds and competing demands. Sanctioning of projects is a continuous and ongoing process.

This information was given by the Minister of Railways, Communications and Electronic & Information Technology, Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today.