Telangana hasn’t paid railway: Centre

Hyderabad: The Union railway ministry has accused the Telangana state government of delay and non-payment of its share of funds, due to which the progress of three new lines — Manoharabad-Kothapalli, Akkanapet-Medak, Bhadrachalam-Sattupalli — has been affected. Railway minister Piyush Goyal has said that the state government and Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) is yet to release and deposit a cumulative Rs 584 crore.

In a reply to Malkajgiri MP A. Revanth Reddy’s unstarred question in the Lok Sabha on November 27, the ministry had said four out of 13 ongoing projects in Telangana state were being done on a cost-sharing basis with the state government.

The costs of Manoharabad and Akkanapet lines are to be shared between the Centre and state government, and those of the Bhadrachalam line with the Centre and the Singareni Collieries Corporation Limited (SCCL). It may be noted that SCCL is owned jointly by the state and central governments, with the former having a controlling stake.

In the case of the Manoharabad-Kotha-palli line, the state has to pay Rs 307 crore. Of this, for the initial work, the government has deposited `60 crore and still owes `71.61 crore. “Non-release of funds has resulted in non-payment of bills, affecting the progress of work,” said Mr Goyal in his answer.

On Akkanapet-Medak, the government has to pay `105 crore. For the initial work, it has deposited `21.15 crore, and is due `50.41 crore.

On Bhadrachalam-Sattupalli, SCCL has paid `156 crore of the sanctioned share of `619 crore. “The project cost has now been revised to `952 crore. Acceptance of the revised cost and depositing of outstanding funds are awaited from M/s SCCL. Not depositing the outstanding amount by M/s SCCL is badly hampering the progress of the project,” said Mr Goyal.

Mr B. Vinod Kumar, vice-chairman of the Telangana Planning Board, admitted that there were indeed delays, mostly because of land acquisition, when asked about Mr Goyal’s  statement.

“The sums being referred to are mostly regarding handing over of land. This is currently under process. As and when the land is acquired, we will hand it over to the railways," he said.

Mr Kumar said land acquisition had become quite complex lately. “Recently, there has been a proliferation of canal irrigation schemes across the state. For this, many lands were acquired at high prices. People who are being asked to give up land for railway projects are also asking for similarly high prices. This has become an issue. That being said, we will pick up the activity and finish it soon,” he said.

Mr Kumar, former Karimnagar MP, said that recently IT minister K.T. Rama Rao and finance minister Harish Rao had detailed discussions on the subject with concerned district collectors, RDOs and other officials. “Another problem we are facing is that there is a shortage of surveyors. The present ones are concentrating on acquisition related to irrigation projects and haven’t been able to work on lands for railway lines. However, state officials recently met with those from railways and it was decided to expedite the matter,” he said.