Bhubaneswar: Union Minister of State for Railways R Velu today said the railways had not discriminated against states, especially Orissa, in the allocation of funds in the Budget.

Flagging off the much awaited Bhubaneswar-Ranchi Garib Rath at the Bhubaneswar Railway station here, Velu said this year the Railway Budget for Orissa had gone up by 61 per cent compared to last year's Budget.

The Union Minister made the remark after ruling BJD MPs drew his attention towards poor allocation of funds to the state in the Railway Budget and demanded that more fund be earmarked so that all the ongoing projects be completed on time. Velu said ideally the railways required nearly Rs 61,000 crores for its various projects across the country but one has to manage with the available revenue and prioritise the projects.

He urged the state government to identify the projects so that they could be taken up on priority basis. He, however, assured that the state would be given special attention in the development of the railways. So far, 1066 km railway lines are available in the state and another 2000 kms line are either taken up or in the process of execution, the Union minister said adding once the 4000 odd kms railway lines are completed, it would meet all the requirements of the state.

Source : UNI