Telangana State gets Rs 5,336 crore from Railway budget to boost infra

Hyderabad: South Central Railway (SCR) on Wednesday announced that Telangana has been allotted Rs 5,366 crore from the Railway Budget for 2024-25. However, a few railway experts pointed out that this amount is insufficient for the development of projects and infrastructure related to railways.

Highlighting the Railway Budget for Telangana, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced that Telangana has been sanctioned a whopping amount of Rs 5,336 crore for the year. This year's budget allocation is nearly six times greater than the average allocation for the combined State during 2009-14. Additionally, the railway network in Telangana is now 100 per cent electrified.

He stated that, over the last 10 years, an average of 65 km of new railway tracks have been laid annually across Telangana, compared to just 17 km per year during 2009-2014. To enhance safety, 437 Railway Over Bridges (RoBs) and Railway Under Bridges (RuBs) have been constructed. Additionally, 40 railway stations in the State are being redeveloped under the Amrit Bharat Station scheme.

Highlighting about the 40 stations being redeveloped as Amrit stations include Adilabad, Basar, Begumpet, Bhadrachalam Road, Gadwal, Hafizpeta, Hi-Tech City, Huppuguda, Hyderabad, Jadcherla, Jangaon, Kacheguda, Kamareddi, Karimnagar, Kazipet Junction, Khammam, Lingampalli, Madhira, Mahbubabad, Mahbubnagar, Malakpet, Malkajgiri Junction, Manchiryal, Medak, Medchal, Miryalaguda, Nalgonda, Nizamabad Junction, Peddapalli Junction, Ramagundam, Secunderabad, Shadnagar, Sri Bala Brahmeswara Jogulamba, Tandur, Umdanagar, Vikarabad, Warangal, Yadadri, Yakutpura, Zahirabad.

Meanwhile, some experts have pointed out that the budget is insufficient for the development of projects, infrastructure, and other aspects related to the Railway department. Mahesh Yadav, a retired railway officer, stated, “The budget is not adequate for the development of rail-related projects and infrastructure. Regarding the State budget, I think the current government will not provide significant support to the department.”