News Tamil Nadu

Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw & TN BJP President Annamalai School TN CM Stalin Over Southern Railways Budget Allocation

August 20, 2024
The Commune

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin today said there was a “drastic reduction” in the Southern Railways budget for 2024-2025, sparking a swift rebuttal from Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and state BJP chief K. Annamalai. The BJP leaders highlighted the record allocation, seven times more than during UPA. They blamed the state government for delays in land acquisition as a critical hindrance to project progress.

In his letter to the Railway Minister, Stalin criticised the reduced budget for Southern Railways in the 2024-2025 regular budget compared to the Interim Budget. He highlighted that the Interim Budget allocated ₹976.1 crore for new lines and ₹2,214.4 crore for doubling existing lines. In comparison, the revised allocation in the regular budget presented on July 23 fell to ₹301.3 crore for new lines and ₹1,928.8 crore for doubling lines.

The CM, on his X official account stated, “Hon’ble @AshwiniVaishnaw, we are deeply concerned about the significant reduction of ₹674.8 cr for new line projects and ₹285.64 cr for doubling projects in Southern Railways as per the 2024-25 budget. This will severely impact vital projects in Tamil Nadu. I urge your immediate intervention to ensure adequate funds and prevent delays in these crucial developments.”

Railway Minister Responds

Railway Minister Vaishnaw refuted Stalin’s claims on X platform, stating that the NDA government had allocated a record ₹6,362 crore for railway development in Tamil Nadu, more than seven times the average annual allocation of ₹879 crore during the UPA era. He also pointed out that delays in land acquisition were impacting project progress. Vaishnaw urged the Tamil Nadu government to expedite land acquisition, promising the central government would enhance efforts to advance railway development if state cooperation improved.

He replied, “Would like to bring the following facts to the notice of Hon’ble CM Thiru @mkstalin NDA government has allocated a record amount of ₹6,362 Crore for developing railways in Tamil Nadu. This amount is more than 7 times the average allocation done in the UPA era (only ₹879 Crore per year). In our constitutional structure, land is a state subject. Projects can be executed speedily if only your government supports us in land acquisition. Only 807 Ha land has been acquired so far against requirement of 2,749 Ha land. We seek your intervention in land acquisition. From our side, we promise that if you take one step, we will take two steps for development of railways in Tamil Nadu.”

It should be noted that, before Vaishnaw’s rebuttal, Annamalai responded to Stalin’s criticisms by clarifying the distribution of Southern Railway divisions and highlighting that not all of these divisions are located in Tamil Nadu. He highlighted that while the budget for doubling works in Southern Railways might have been reduced, Tamil Nadu-specific projects for doubling received an increased allocation of ₹1,696 crore in the revised budget, compared to ₹1,437 crore in the Interim Budget—an increase of ₹259 crore. He also pointed out a net rise in ₹65 crore for gauge conversion projects and a significant boost in funding for Track Renewals, rising from ₹1,240 crore to ₹1,755 crore.

Annamalai raised specific queries regarding land acquisition for new railway lines in Tamil Nadu. He questioned the status of land acquisition for the Madurai-Tuticorin line, noting that only 74.87 hectares of the required 870.98 hectares had been acquired as of December 2023. He also asked for updates on the land acquisition for the Tindivanam-Tiruvannamalai line, which has been ongoing since 2010.

Annamalai concluded by contrasting the current budget allocations with the average annual outlay of ₹879 crore during the 2009-2014 DMK-Congress regime, emphasising that the substantial increase to ₹6,362 crore in the current year underscores significant progress in funding for Tamil Nadu’s railway infrastructure.

Annamalai, via his official X account, stated, “We bring to the attention of TN CM Thiru @mkstalin the following: Chennai, Tiruchirappalli, Madurai, Palakkad, Salem, and Thiruvananthapuram—these are divisions under Southern Railway; not every division falls under TN.

The budget for doubling works for Southern Railways could be reduced, but the TN-specific projects for doubling works have received an increased allocation of ₹1696 Crore in the revised project. The interim budget allocation for TN-specific projects for doubling works was ₹1437 Crores. There is an increase in allocation of ₹259 Crores.  Notably, the budget for gauge conversion has seen a net increase of 65 Crores for TN-specific projects under Southern Railways. Tiruchchirappalli-Nagore-Karaikal gauge conversion work in TN has received an increased allocation of ₹135 Crore.”

“The overall budget for Southern Railways for Track Renewals (which includes track repair, replacement, and maintenance works) has increased to ₹1755 Crores from ₹1240 Crores. Most of these Track Renewal projects are allocated to divisions under Southern Railways in Tamil Nadu, ensuring the safety and reliability of our railway network. While the budgeting for New Lines has been reduced for divisions in TN under Southern Railway, there has been a substantial increase in allocation for Doubling works, Gauge Conversion, and Track Renewals.

However, we seek the following clarification from TN CM Thiru @mkstalin :

  • For the Madurai-Tuticorin via Aruppukkottai (143.5 km) New Line, approximately 870.98 Ha. of Land is required, and as of December 2023, only 74.87 Ha of land was acquired. We understand that the budget for the new line is allocated based on the progress made on land acquisition. Can the TN Govt clarify the status of land acquisition?
  • Land acquisition for a new line between Tindivanam and Tiruvannamalai has been ongoing since 2010. Has the Land acquisition been completed?

A similar question arises for other new railway lines where the budgets are cut, and the DMK Government is duty-bound to answer.” He added.

“The average annual budget outlay to TN was just ₹879 crore per year during 2009-14 during the DMK Congress Regime. However, allocations to TN in all streams have increased significantly over the last ten years, and this year’s railway budget of ₹6362 Crore to TN stands as a testament to this.” He further added

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