BANGALORE
Railway Minister Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday said at present Rs 23,000 crore would be required to complete 13 ongoing railway projects and a few sanctioned projects that would be taken up in the state in the near future.
“However, considering the fact that a long time is required to complete the railway projects, the costs frequently escalate and, therefore, at least `1,00,000 crore will be spent by the time we complete all projects,” he added. He was speaking at a programme organised to commission the recently completed Chikballapur-Kolar railway line and flag off a Bangalore and Kolar train in Chikballapur.
Kharge said he will explore the possibility of undertaking time-bound projects as suggested by Chief Minister Siddramaiah to avoid the frequent cost escalation and to ensure that the projects are completed at the earliest. “Now the state government has come forward to give the required land free of cost and bear 50 per cent of the cost for the proposed coach factory near Kolar. Hence we will also sanction some money in the supplementary budget for the project and ensure that it is taken up at the earliest,” he added.
Full report here New Indian Express
