Railway Minister Ashwin🃏i Vaishnaw on Friday said the Centre has allocated a record Rs 10,012 crore for various rail projects in Odisha in the Union Budget𒆙.
“Odisha had sought an allocation of Rs 8,400 crore, but PM Narendra Modi has pro🙈vided Rs 10,012 crore, the highest-ever railway allocation for the state, for the 2023-24 financial year,” Vaishnaw told reporters at a virtual press conference.
The minister said the Centre made the record allocation for Odisha keeping in view the PM’s ‘Purvodaya’ policy that focuses on the overall develop💃ment of the eastern region.
The railway al🥃location for the previous fiscal was Rs 9,734 crore, which included the state’s share and extra-budgetary resources, official sources said.
Vaishnaw said 280 km of new tracks will be laid inꦬ the state, and 57 stations will be modernised during 2🅷023-24. The passenger reservation system will also be revamped, he added.
Odisha generates freight revenue of around Rs 20,000 crore per annum for the Ind𝄹ian Railways, the sources sai🌼d.
