Record Railway Allocation: Himachal Pradesh Wins Big In Union Budget

Amid Congress’ criticism that the Union Budget 2024 was “discriminatory” towards all non-NDA-ruled states, Rajya Sabha MP Harsh Mahajan said on Thursday that Himachal Pradesh has a special place in the budget.

“Himachal has got a special place in the budget, in which Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has also mentioned special help for disaster relief in the state.

For this, I give heartfelt thanks to the Central Government,” Mahajan told reporters here.

He said that Himachal Pradesh has received a record budget in this year’s railway budget. In the Union Budget for the financial year 2024-25, Rs 2,698 crore has been allocated for railway development in the state, he said.

Mahajan said that during the NDA regime, the budget allocation for railway development in the state was 25 times higher than during the UPA regime. He said that this generous allocation would strengthen the rail infrastructure in Himachal Pradesh.

He said that except for narrow gauge in Himachal, the railways have completed 100 percent of their electrification work. Four stations, including in Shimla in the state, are being constructed on the basis of world-class standards.

“Four railway stations in Himachal Pradesh should be made into world-class railway stations. These include Amb-Andaura, Baijnath Paprola, Palampur, and Shimla.

The work on the Bhanupalli Bilaspur-Bari, Chandigarh-Baddi and Nangal Dam-Talwara railway lines is going on at a fast pace,” he said.

The Railway Minister said that the geographical conditions of the state are quite different, for which work will be done under the Himalayan tunnelling method. Rs 300 crore has been allocated for the Chandigarh-Baddi railway line project. Earlier, it was also announced in the interim budget, he said.

Meanwhile, Ambala Division DRM Mandeep Singh Bhatia said that the Railways had announced this project in 2007. This railway line is 33.23 km long. A budget of Rs 500 crore has been released for the Nangal Ham-Talwara railway line and Rs 1700 crore for the Bhanupalli-Bilaspur-Bari railway line.

Reacting to the Union Budget 2024-25 presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said the Centre had again disappointed Himachal Pradesh by ignoring its long pending demands and the aspirations of the people of the state.

He also said that the Modi government tried to appease its allies due to its political compulsions.

(WITH INPUTS FROM ANI)