Rs 11.6k-cr for 6 Rly projects in four States approved

The Centre on Tuesday approved six railway projects worth Rs 11,661 crore for new lines as well as doubling and electrification of tracks, which would generate more than 200 lakh person days of employment in Uttar Pradesh and three other States. The Modi Cabinet also cleared first railway line by 2022 in Odisha's Naxal-affected Malkangiri costing Rs 2,676 crore.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved doubling and electrification projects of

the 425 km-long Jhansi-Manikpur and Bhimsen-Khairar lines at a completion cost of Rs 4955.72 crore.

The projects would cover 881 km of lines in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Odisha. The projects are likely to be completed by 2022-23 and will cover the districts of Jhansi, Mahoba, Banda, Chitrakut Dham in Uttar Pradesh and Chhatarpur in Madhya Pradesh.

The CCEA also approved  doubling with electrification of the 116.95 km-long Bhatni-Aurnihar line. The project, at a cost of Rs 1300.9 crore, is likely to be completed by 2021-22 and will cover the districts of Deoria, Ballia, Mau and Ghazipur in Uttar Pradesh.

Approval has also come for the doubling and electrification projects on the 100.6 km-long Muzaffarpur-Sagauli and 109.7 km-long Sagauli-Valmiki Nagar lines at completion costs of Rs 1347.61 crore and Rs 1381.49 crore respectively. These lines are in the districts of Muzaffarpur, East Champaran (Motihari) and West Champaran (Bettiah) in Bihar.

"Railways provides employment opportunities to lakhs of people. Doubling of railway lines, electrification, development and modernisation of the railways will generate employment of 211 lakh man days," Railway Minister Piyush Goyal said briefing the media.

The Minister stated that the doubling of the Bhatni-Aurnihar line will not only decongest the route between Mugalsarai and Allahabad and provide better connectivity to Varanasi in UP, but also benefit passengers travelling to Eastern India, especially Bihar, West Bengal and North East.

Goyal said the first railway line in Naxal-affected Malkangiri will cover the districts of Koraput and Malkangiri in Odisha. "Connecting Naxal-affected areas is our priority and for this we are starting the first rail project in Odisha's Malkangiri. This will help in the development of the area," the

Minister said.