CM KCR Disappointed With Rail Budget

Telangana Chief Minister KCR Tuesday expressed disappointment with the railway budget saying BJP-led government has done injustice to the newly-created state. KCR said not a single new project was announced for the state in the budget presented by D. V. Sadananda Goud. “Like the previous Congress governments, the BJP government has also done injustice to Telangana,” he said.

The chief minister said there were no proposals for modernization of Secunderabad railway station and for making Kazipet a new railway division, a long pending demand. “Funds have not been allocated for even the projects for which surveys were already done,” KCR said in a statement.

He lamented that there is no mention of coach factory in Kazipet. The factory was already announced in 2010-11 budget. Rao said Rs.20 crore allocated for second phase of Multi-Modal Transit System (MMTS) in Hyderabad is not sufficient.

The rail budget has turned into a major disappointment for Telangana, as it did not mention anything about what the AP Re-Organization Act promised for the State in terms of railway projects and infrastructure.

On the Act’s proposals for creating a new zone in tune with the State bifurcation, the Railway Minister Sadananda Gowda simply announced that a joint committee of Indian Railways and State government officials would examine all issues concerning Railways in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh States and submit a report. There is no timeline mentioned for the committee.

According to the budget, there are 29 ongoing projects in Andhra Padesh and Telangana at an estimated cost of Rs. 20,680 crore and the minister claimed those works would be priority.

Other national leaders slammed the budget for emphasis on privatization and  partisanship towards BJP ruled States. 

“Bengal has been neglected and humiliated by the new government at the Centre. This government wants to allow FDI in defence, railways and different other sectors. In fact, the BJP government wants to allow FDI in everywhere, they want to sell off the country. Our MPs have opposed the railway budget in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. We will not sit idle once the Centre continues to deprive us.” said Mamata Banerjee.

“There was no reference to Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Assam, Odisha, Kerala, Telangana and Seemandhra. These are the parts where a large chunk of the population resides. Also, all pending projects should have been completed first,” JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav said.

Biju Janta Dal (BJD) MP Baijayant Panda said “The budget is illogical as far as Odisha is concerned. The logic has to be explained. The government says priority would be given to those areas which have been neglected. It gets Rs 14,000 crore from freight services from Odisha and large parts of the state do not have rail connectivity.”

“It seems that in the Railway map of BJP government, there is no state called Kerala,” Kerala Former CM Achuthanandan said.