Rly projects show poor 145;track146; record

The Railway Ministry claims to have provided a number of trains to connect Bihar and Jharkhand with the rest of the country...

The Railway Ministry claims to have provided a number of trains to connect Bihar and Jharkhand with the rest of the country, but a flash report submitted to Jharkhand Chief Minister Madhu Koda last month speaks differently. According to the report, there is little to be glad about as far as the railway projects in Jharkhand are concerned.

The report says there is hardly any civil or engineering activity on at the project sites. Mounds of earth, dumped boulders and empty vehicles are proof that these projects have made no headway in the past two years.

On February 2, 2002, the Railway Ministry had signed a memorandum of understanding MoU with the state Government envisaging five projects worth Rs 1,997 crore. The projects include a 228.67 km Koderma-Ranchi track KRT, 114 km Koderma-Giridih track KGT, 16.3 km Koderma-Tilaya track KTT, 14.5 km Ranchi-Lohardaga track RLT, 80.58 km Deoghar-Dumka track DDT and 66.2 km Dumka-Rampurhat track DRT.

The KRT and the KGT, falling under the East Central Railways, proposes to put two district towns 8212; Hazaribagh and Giridh 8212; on the railway map of the country. Similarly, the Koderma -Tilaya track of the South Eastern Railways will link Koderma with Hazaribagh. The Deoghar-Dumka track of the Eastern Railways promises to integrate two divisions of the state 8212; Santhal Pargana and Chotanagpur.

According to the MoU, the state Government and the Railways were to share funds in 66.33:33.34 ratio. Both the Centre and the state released funds worth Rs 1,331.32 crore and Rs 665.80 crore respectively to begin work on the projects initiated in 2003. The report prepared by the authorities of the three zones of the Railways 8212; Eastern, South Eastern and East Central 8212; presents a dismal scenario.

Under the KTT project, not even 1 km track has been laid, says the report. The KRT project boasts of 5.5 km, the KGT has 3.5 km and RLT has 14.5 km of finished work. 8220;The rest are under construction,8221; says the report.

Delay in land acquisition and cost escalation on account of slow pace of work have further affected the projects. 8220;Ransom calls by criminals and Naxalites are additional stumbling blocks,8221; said a staff member of the Railways.

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The Opposition has not failed to lambast Koda on the issue. 8220;Because he was handpicked by the RJD leader, he is looking the other way,8221; said Arjun Munda, former Chief Minister. Meanwhile, Ranchi8217;s Railway Divisional Manager A K Dutta said there was a need for a senior IAS officer. 8220;Work is bound to pick up speed once a senior officer starts coordinating between the managers of the three railway zones and the state Government,8221; he said.