Railway Minister M. Mallikarjun Kharge has said that the Centre will cooperate with the State in executing the pending railway projects if the latter contributes its share of funds and provide land. Of the Rs. 671 crore that the State has to contribute, it has so far contributed only Rs. 30 crore, according to the Union Minister.
He was speaking after flagging off the inaugural special Bangalore City-Marikuppam-Bangalore City passenger train at the Marikuppam railway station in Kolar Gold Fields (KGF) on Saturday. The new train has the capacity to carry 2,500 passengers on each trip.
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At present, 378 railway projects across the country are pending and among them are 171 new projects. To complete all the projects, Rs. 1.78 lakh crore is needed, Mr. Kharge said. Referring to a demand for the Kolar-Mulbagal railway line, Mr. Kharge said that the project would be implemented if the State contributed its share of land and funds.
On the Kolar-Chickballapur gauge doubling project, Mr. Kharge said that a major part of the work is over, and now it is for the elected representatives to take necesarry steps to ensure that it is completed. Mr. Kharge underlined the need to increase the revenue of the Railways. As of now only 27 p.c. of its income is from passenger fares, he added.
Union Minister of State for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises K.H. Muniyappa, legislators Y. Ramakka, K.M. Narayanaswamy, D.S. Veeraiah and Nazir Ahmad were present.
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General Manager of South Western Railway Ashok Kumar Mital, Divisional Railway Manager Anil Kumar Agarwal and Railway Board Chairman C. Narayanaswamy were among the railway officials present on the occasion.