Odisha Neglected in Railway Budget: BJD

Bhubaneswar: Opposition Biju Janata Dal (BJD) on Tuesday made a scathing attack on the BJP-led Central government for neglecting Odisha in the Railway Budget.

Senior BJD leader and former MP Amar Patnaik said that the people of Odisha have been betrayed by Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.

The Union Minister said that Odisha has been allocated Rs 10,599 crore in the Railway Budget this year. The Minister claims that the state receives Rs 10,000 more every year. But how much revenues the Centre is getting from Odisha and how much it is giving to Odisha, asked the BJD leader.

The East Coast Railway is getting Rs 25,000 crore every year from Odisha. So in the last ten years, Odisha has contributed more than Rs 2.5 lakh crore revenues to the Railway. But how it has received from the Railway? This year, the state has received only 13 per cent more in the Budget. The double engine government has not doubled the allocation. What Odisha has been allocated is very negligible in terms of revenues. The Centre has meted out step-motherly treatment to the State, the BJD alleged.

. Odisha has been neglected despite having 20 MPs, 3 ministers in the double engine government. The demands made by former Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik have not been fulfilled by the Centre, the BJD said.

Ashwini Vaishnaw further said that the railway projects are going well in Odisha. The work on Khordha-Balangir has been going on since 1994. It was supposed to be completed by 2024-25. But it has not been completed. When will it be completed? The proposed wagon factory project at Sitalapalli has been shifted to Maharashtra. The work for electric loco periodical overhauling (POH) workshop in Kalahandi district has not been done despite 100 acres of land was taken for the project. The Centre is silence when other pending projects will be completed. There is no rail connectivity in seven districts. When will the districts get a rail line? The double engine government is showing lantern to the people of Odisha in the daytime, the BJD said.