Tags:
Journalism of Courage
In a considerable fillip to the funding and execution of major railway projects in the North Eastern Region NER, the Government is ready to set up a non-lapsable North East Rail Development Fund worth Rs 9,067 crore to ensure that these projects get completed within a stipulated time period and do not get delayed for want of funds.
The idea 8212; in the works for almost a year now 8212; has finally got the go-ahead from the Prime Minister8217;s Office and will now be put before the Union Cabinet for approval.
8220;Currently, works on nine major railway projects see box in the North Eastern Region NER are on. All of these have already been declared as national projects and the setting up of this non-lapsable fund is primarily aimed at accelerating their progress,8221; said a railway ministry official.
As per current estimates, investments worth Rs 9,067.7 crore are required to complete these nine projects, which include six new lines, two gauge conversions and a major road-cum-rail bridge over the Brahmaputra. These projects touch six states of the region excluding Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim.
The new line projects touch the states of Assam, Manipur, Tripura, Nagaland, Meghalaya and Mizoram.
8220;Being non-lapsable, this fund will also cover any future projects that may be declared as national projects in the region,8221; an official from the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region DoNER said. While the Railways Ministry will contribute 25 per cent of this non-lapsable fund, the remaining 75 per cent will come from the Consolidated Fund of India.
Significantly, the setting up of this fund has also meant that target dates have been fixed for the completion of these projects. 8220;Normally, railway projects don8217;t have a pre-fixed deadline. However, with an assured fund supply now, these nine projects have been assigned specific completion dates.8221;
