NITI Aayog could pitch for new programme to link remote areas by railways

To be modelled along the lines of the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana

The Central government is mulling a separate scheme or programme for giving added impetus to laying new railway lines in hilly, remote and unconnected habitations. The scheme would be designed along the lines of the highly successful Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY).

Officials said that the Centre’s main think-tank, the NITI Aayog, is expected to suggest separating the task of laying railway tracks and connecting remote habitations through the rail network as an entirely different programme outside the current allocations. This would be done in order to give the initiative added focus and to ensure completion of these projects, many of which have been languishing for years for want of added attention.

In the 2004-05 Budget presented during the tenure of current Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, the Ministry of Railways had announced a similar programme called the "Remote Area Rail Sampark Yojana" with an additional outlay of Rs 20,000 crore. 

The scheme was to get operationalised from 2005-06 and was aimed at completing all pending projects in remote and unconnected areas and also undertake new initiatives.

The ministry had then estimated that once opened for traffic, these lines would also require about 18,000 persons per year for normal maintenance and operations, on incremental basis. Apart from this, it was expected that there would be scope for indirect employment of nearly 55,000 persons per year.

However, in a written reply to a standing committee of Parliament in 2008-09, the ministry said that the scheme could not take off as state governments didn’t show any interest in contributing their share of the funds — around two per cent of resources were to come from funds collected by states on stamp duty on property transactions.

Officials said that the new programme, modelled on the lines of the PMGSY or the National Highways Development Programme (NHDP), would also help in attracting dedicated funds for connecting remote areas and improving investments in these sectors.

Launched in 2000, the Centre had constructed over 400,000 kilometres of roads, mostly in rural and unconnected habitations, so far under the PMGSY.

In the 2017-18 Union Budget, the Centre has allocated Rs 19,000 crore for the programme; which, along with the state’s share, will take the total funding for the programme in the financial year to over Rs 27,000 crore.

Under the NHDP, also launched during the previous NDA government, the Centre, along with the NHAI, plans to upgrade, rehabilitate and widen the existing network of highways along with building new ones. The project is to be completed in phases.