New railway projects in Tamil Nadu ignored: MP

‘Centre has allocated very meagre funds for the State’

Madurai, Tamil Nadu, 18/01/2022: Madurai MP, Su. Venkatesan, announcing that bankers have distributed around Rs. 100 crore of educational loans to students pursuing higher education in Madurai district for the year 2021-22, in Madurai on Tuesday. Photo: Ashok R / The Hindu

Madurai MP Su. Venkatesan has accused the Centre of having ignored new railway projects in Tamil Nadu.

In a statement, he said new railway line projects in Tamil Nadu had been allotted only ₹1,000 crore in the Union Budget 2022.

He listed out the new railway line projects for which meagre amounts had been allocated – Tindivanam - Ginjee - Tiruvannamalai; Tindivanam - Nagari; Athipattu - Puththur; Erode - Palani; Chennai - Cuddalore; Madurai - Aruppukottai - Thoothukudi; Sriperumbudur - Guduvancheri - Irunkattukottai - Avadi; Murappur - Dharmapuri and the doubling project of Katpadi - Villupuram section.

The MP also pointed out that mere ₹1.5 crore had been allocated for Salem - Karur - Dindigul doubling project as against the project cost of ₹1,600 crore.

Similarly, for the ₹650-crore Erode - Karur doubling project, the Centre had allotted only ₹1 crore.

This was the third consecutive budget in which the Centre had given meagre funds for Tamil Nadu projects.

However, Mr.Venkatesan welcomed the budgetary allocation of ₹59 crore for Rameswaram - Dhanushkodi new rail line project which had been planned to be completed at a cost of ₹207 crore.

For Madurai - Bodi gauge conversion work, which had been going on for 10 years, the Centre had allotted ₹125 crore and for Vanchi Maniyachchi - Nagercoil doubling project ₹425 crore and Thiruvananthapuram - Kanniyakumari doubling project ₹700 crore, he said.

The MP appealed to the Centre to expedite the projects to complete them in two years.