As usual, lollipop for Odisha

BHUBANESWAR: Odisha has again received a raw deal in the railway budget this time in which the total allocation for different projects has gone down drastically to Rs 713.98 cr, compared to Rs 1361.67 crore in 2011-12. While Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik described the budget as disappointing, the State unit of the BJP has said it is anti-poor and anti-Odisha. The State Government had demanded Rs 2,345 cr in the budget. Allocation under all heads has been drastically reduced as a result of which some ongoing projects will be delayed further. Only Rs 107 cr has been provided for eight ongoing projects, compared to Rs 430.7 cr in 2011-12. However, there is no proposal for new lines or doublings in the budget. The State Government had requested for 10 new lines and two doubling projects.While only Rs 10 cr has been allotted for Daitari-Banspani railway line project, allocation for  Khurda-Balangir project has been reduced to Rs 40 cr from Rs 120 cr last year. Development of railway infrastructure will receive a setback as the Lanjigarh Road-Junagarh railway line project has got only Rs 12 cr, compared to Rs 60 cr in 2011-12. Provision for Talcher-Bimalagarh project has also been reduced to Rs 30 cr while Haridarpur-Paradip and Angul-Duburi-Sukinda Road projects have received a token allocation of Rs 2 cr each. While Rs 1 cr has been allotted for Sambalpur-Talcher project, the Digha-Jaleswar railway project has got Rs 10 cr. However, a large sum has been pumped into doubling of railway lines with an allocation of Rs 532 cr, compared to Rs 399.73 cr in 2011-12. Electrification has received a higher allocation of Rs 71.48 cr, while for gauge conversion, ` 2.5 cr has been provided.