Amid hue and cry of West Bengal drawing blank in the Union Budget 2024-25, reports suggest the Centre has proposed an allocation of more than Rs 4,000 crore for four Metro projects in and around Calcutta in this year’s budget.
In the 2023-24 budget, the allocation was less than Rs 3,500 crore.
“The railways now is focusing on infrastructure development, including Calcutta’s Metro network. The budgetary allocations once again reiterate the fact that funds will not be a problem as long as work continues. In most places, the land logjams have been resolved So, work should be progressing,” said a senior official in the railway ministry.
The proposed outlay for 2024-25 for the New Garia-airport (Orange Line) corridor is Rs 1,791.39 crore, according to the documents uploaded on the website of the Indian Railways. The revised outlay for 2023-24 for the corridor was Rs 1,700 crore.
The 30km Orange Line, which aims to connect New Garia with the airport via Salt Lake, is now functional on a 5.4km section between the New Garia and Ruby stations.
In March this year, the defence ministry refused permission to shift the market to an upcoming complex above the Esplanade station on the East-West Metro line (Green Line), leaving the Joka-Esplanade corridor in a new limbo.
The 17km Noapara-Barasat corridor (Yellow Line) has received a proposed outlay of Rs 200 crore, compared with the revised outlay of Rs 304.82 crore in 2023-24.
In a press conference on Wednesday, railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said Bengal has been allocated Rs 13,941 crore for railways in the current financial year.
The ruling Trinamool Congress government has been criticising the Centre over state’s funds. And, thus, just focussing on allocations for railways is not enough for the Bengal government.
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