Gowda has expressed disappointment at the railway budget, saying it does not have even a single new railway line for Karnataka with complete central funding.
Chief minister DV Sadananda Gowda has expressed disappointment at the railway budget, saying it does not have even a single new railway line for Karnataka with complete central funding.
“Karnataka deserved more as it is the first state in the entire country to come forward to share 50% of the project costs. The railway minister should have been liberal to Karnataka in taking up new projects and introducing new trains,” he said on Wednesday.
He said the railway minister did not respond to their requests regarding introducing new trains and taking up new projects, despite promises in the meeting of the minister and railway board officials in Bangalore last year.
He added that he had requested sanctioning of seven projects and introduction of 18 new trains. However, not a single new line has been given to Karnataka, where the project cost is borne by the Centre.
Gowda said the state had asked for inclusion of 10 new lines but only five have been considered, and that too with the cost sharing from Karnataka.
“We had asked for two commuter rail projects—one around Bangalore and one between Mangalore and Subramanya. Neither has been accepted. We had requested for doubling of a few existing railway lines. None have been agreed to. While we welcome some of the above inclusions (coach factory in Kolar), they are far below our requirements. The rail density of Karnataka is lower than most other states,” he said.
Two new coach factories have been announced in the country, one in Kutch, Gujarat, and Kolar, Karnataka. The factory in Gujarat will be funded by the Centre whereas they expect Karnataka to bear the substantial cost of setting up the one in Kolar. Nevertheless, the chief minister welcomed the announcement to start the Integrated Rail Coach Factory in Kolar.
He also welcomed the proposal to set up the Gadag-Haveri, Gadag-Wadi, Chikballapur-Puttaparthi, Srinivasapura-Madanapalli routes, pending Planning Commission appraisal and ‘in-principle’ approval.
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