Centre examining Rs 17,000 crore Bengaluru suburban rail project: Suresh Angadi

Minister of State for Railways Suresh Angadi informed the Rajya Sabha on Friday that the Centre is examining the long-pending Rs 17,000 crore suburban rail project for Bengaluru city and is expected to give a nod after the Karnataka government discloses details of land acquisition. 

Responding during the Question Hour, Angadi said the project has been pending due to non-cooperation from the previous Congress-JDS led state government.

Discussions in progress

"Now, we are discussing with the state government and officials. We are studying the matter. As soon as we get details about land and funds from the state government, we will take it up," he added.

The BS Yediyurappa government in Karnataka has submitted a revised detailed project report (DPR) that proposes an estimate of 55-odd suburban railway stations covering a distance of about 150 km. The Karnataka government has proposed to execute the project through the Rail Infrastructure Development Company (Karnataka) Ltd (K-RIDE) and a special purpose vehicle needs to be formed for the same.

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Govt has lined up Rs 1.5 lakh crore in investment for the next 10 years

To another query on development of railways, the Minister said the government has lined up investments worth over Rs 1.5 lakh crore for the next ten years. Institutional finance has been arranged and the work has been on track wherever the states have provided required land for the railway projects. On payment of interest on borrowings, he said the allocation for railways under the current government has been much higher than the previous one. The revenues will improve and there will not be any shortage of funds for railway projects.

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