The Pink Book which details all the budgetary allotment in Railway projects was not available for the public even by late Wednesday evening.
The first Budget which included both the General as well as Railway finances left officials scratching their heads because unlike previous years, the Pink Book- which details all the budgetary allotment in Railway projects- was not available for the public even by late Wednesday evening. Officials said details of allotment for various projects had not yet reached the Railway board offices.
A senior Railway ministry official said that the Pink Book might get uploaded only by February 6. "This time the legislative process of the Budget was completely done by the Finance Ministry unlike previous years. So unless the Railways gets the allotment figures from the Finance Ministry, they will not be able to make the Pink Book public," said a senior railway official.
In previous years, the Pink Book used to get uploaded onto various Railway ministry websites within three to four hours of the Railway budget, giving people a clear picture of the money allotted to projects. While there are several projects announced in a Budget, only if a project gets a substantial amount of money can passengers be sure that the ministry is serious in pursuing it, pointed out an official.
The mystery over allotment of funds for Mumbai-specific projects continued. "It is almost certain that the phase 3 of the Mumbai Urban Transport project will get substantial funds because the tenders for various projects under MUTP phase 3 will come up in a couple of months. However, only the Pink Book can give a clear idea of the money allotted,' said a top-ranking city-based Railway official.
Another official said that other projects whose foundation stones were laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to Mumbai in December will also receive funds earmarked. "This includes the CST-Panvel elevated corridor and the Bandra-Virar corridor," said an official. There would be a token allotment for the Rs 9356 crore Virar-Vasai-Panvel suburban corridor as well. Four to five stations of the 25 that will be taken up for station redevelopment would be from Mumbai, officials said.
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