'Amount allocated over 7 times the average in UPA era', Ashwini Vaishnaw quashes Stalin's claims

NEW DELHI: After Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Monday expressed his disappointment for the 'drastic reduction' in budgetary allocation for the Southern Railways, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw quashed the DMK chief's claims, saying the amount is more than seven times the average allocation made in the UPA era.

In a letter to the Railway Minister, Stalin said: “We are disappointed that the allocation of funds for the Southern Railways under certain Heads of Accounts in the Regular Budget for Indian Railways for the financial year 2024-2025 is much less when compared to the allocations made in the Interim Budget in the same year."

The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister pointed out that in the Interim Budget for 2024-25, the allocation towards new lines and doubling of lines were Rs.976.1 crore and Rs.2,214.4 crore, respectively.

"But the revised allocation in the regular budget presented by the government on July 23 was Rs 301.3 crore for new lines and Rs 1,928.8 crore for doubling of lines," the DMK chief said.

Quashing Stalin's claims, the Railway Minister said in a post on X: "Would like to bring the following facts to the notice of Hon'ble CM Thiru (M.K. Stalin). The NDA government has allocated a record amount of Rs 6,362 crore for developing railways in Tamil Nadu.

"This amount is more than 7 times the average allocation done in the UPA era (only Rs 879 crore per year)."

The Railway Minister added: "In our constitutional structure, land is a state subject. Projects can be executed speedily if only your government supports us in land acquisition. Only 807 hectares of land has been acquired so far against a requirement of 2,749 hectares.

"We seek your intervention in land acquisition. From our side, we promise that if you take one step, we will take two steps for the development of railways in Tamil Nadu."