A House Committee led by Assembly Speaker Surjya Naryan Patro met Railways Minister Piyush Goyal at Rail Bhavan in Delhi and demanded an allocation of over Rs 7,200 crore in 2020-21 Budget for railway projects in the State.
Expressing concern over reduction of funds for railway projects in Odisha, the committee also demanded sanctioning of new railway projects and modernisation of 11 railway stations, including Bhubaneswar station. Referring to the commitment of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to provide land free of cost for projects, the delegation proposed sanctioning of 10 new railway lines and four short-link projects for better connectivity.
It also demanded introduction of 23 express/superfast trains, 13 intercity express trains, eight passenger trains, extension of trains in 26 routes and introduction of MEMU/DEMU services in seven stations.
In response, the Railways Minister advised the Odisha Government to expedite land acquisition which is delaying implementation of several projects.
