NEW DELHI, Aug 4 - The Railways has taken up at least 15 major projects of new lines in the northeastern states, including in Assam, Minister of State for Railways Rajen Gohain said in Rajya Sabha today.
The Indian Railways has laid great emphasis on improvement and development of railway infrastructure in Assam and the northeastern states, said the minister in reply to a question by Santius Kujur.
The projects include Bogibeel bridge with linking lines between Dibrugarh and the North Bank (73 km). The anticipated cost of the bridge project is Rs 4,996 crore and expenditure incurred up to March this year was Rs 4,102 crore. The total outlay for the project this fiscal is Rs 300 crore.
Gohain said final location survey for new lines included in the budget has been taken up by the Northeast Frontier Railway. Asked about the estimated time-line to complete the railway lines for commencement of operations, Gohain said the Railways has huge throw-forward of ongoing projects with limited resources.
He said completion of projects also depends on land acquisition and forestry clearance, law and order, NOC in road, canal and electrical crossings from different Central and state government authorities.
