The state wants to get maximum allocation for the 29 railway projects that it has proposed with the Centre.
The Maharashtra government is pushing hard the Union railway minister Mamata Banerjee to get a good deal for the state from the railway budget. The state wants to get maximum allocation for the 29 railway projects that it has proposed with the Centre.
The proposal includes 21 new routes and expansion of two routes.
Some of the key demands made in the proposal for Mumbai are additional funds for the 15-rake and 12-rake coaches on harbour line, adequate funding for the Mumbai Urban Transport Project-II, rehabilitation of the project-affected people (PAPs) and fund allocation for the Metro and Mono rail projects.
In monetary terms, the state has demanded a provision of Rs1,000 crore for the western and central railways to get 15-rake coaches. An additional Rs500 crore is required for the extending elevated stations for 12-rake coaches and to acquire more coaches, the state’s proposal says.
The railway budget is expected to allocate major chunk towards the viability gap funding for the Charkop-Bandra-Mankhurd phase of the Metro in Mumbai. Of the Rs1,532 crore required for the project, only Rs235 crore has been released so far. Likewise, adequate provision for the Rs2,356 crore Chembur-Wadala-Jacob Circle phase and the Thane-Bhiwandi-Kalyan phase of the Monorail is also expected to be announced.
Chief minister Ashok Chavan has already met Mamata Banerjee, a fortnight ago, and placed the state’s demands before her. Chavan is slated to have another meeting with the railway minister before she presents the budget on Wednesday.
For the second meeting, Chavan is expected to be accompanied by Union agriculture minister and the government’s coalition partner Sharad Pawar to lobby for various railway projects in the state. The government is pushing the railway ministry for a good deal in the budget in the backdrop of the disappointing provisions that were made for Maharashtra in last year’s budget.
An official from the chief minister’s office said that the government expects major chunk for the city and also for the naxal affected areas from both the railway as well as the general Union budget. “The government has been serious about implementing the election manifesto and for that it needs adequate provisions,” the official said.
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