The meagre allocation for the State in the Union Railway Budget 2013-14 will be rectified in the coming days, Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation K.C. Venugopal has said.
Speaking to presspersons at the Thiruvananthapuram international airport here, the Minister said United Democratic Front (UDF) MPs from the State had brought the issue to the notice of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday and that they were positive in this regard.
The Union Minister said Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and Minister for Transport and Power Aryadan Mohammed who is in-charge of the railways, will meet Dr. Singh next week seeking his intervention.
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To a query on how Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal was going to end the neglect meted out to the State, Mr. Venugopal said this would be reflected in the reply to the budget speech or in the supplementary demands. On the Union budget presented in Parliament by Union Minister for Finance, P. Chidambaram on Thursday, he said the budget had many unique features and the setting up of a bank exclusively for women was a path-breaking step.
The duty concession on import of spare parts and testing equipment for aircraft Maintenance, Repair, Overhaul (MRO) industry announced in the budget would help in the growth of the MRO in Thiruvananthapuram and generate employment, Mr. Venugopal said.