Odisha gets Rs. 5,102-cr for railway development

Odisha has been allocated Rs. 5,102-cr for development of Railways in the Union Budget for 2017-18 against the State's demand of Rs. 5,870cr, East Coast Railways, GM, Umesh Singh said, adding that the allocation meets about 87% of the State's demand. Neighbouring states like Andhra Pradesh and Chhattishgarh have been allocated Rs. 3,406-crore and Rs. 3,676cr, respectively, sources said. Mr. Singh, however, added that the details about the new projects, new trains and other aspects could be known towards the beginning of February. The allocation made for 2017-18 is about 9 per cent more than the previous year's allocation of Rs. 4,682cr. Earlier, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had demanded Rs. 5,870-cr under the Railway Budget for the State. The allocation for Odisha includes portions under East Coast Railway, South East Railway, South East Central Railways jurisdictions.