The railway ministry has told the government it will not be able to take up new route electrification projects till 2002-03 unless there is substantial increase in budgetary support.
"It is in the government's interest to support our electrification projects because it results in huge reduction in the oil import bill. Considering that oil imports result in a major outgo of foreign exchange, it would be cheaper for the government to extend low-interest loans to the railways," a railway official said.
The ministry needs Rs 1,625 crore for completing route electrification projects. Work on electrification of 2,564 km of tracks is on and Rs 606 crore has already been spent. Rs 341 crore has been earmarked for track electrification in the current year. At this rate of fund allocation, ongoing works will spill over to 2002-03, the first year of the Tenth Plan.
The railways have not taken up any new electrification project this year, a significant departure from last year when four projects were taken up. Barring 1994-95, new route electrification projects have been taken up every year since 1991-92. In fact, three projects taken up in 1991-92 and three projects undertaken in 1992-93 are still pending. A total of 13,962 km, or 22 per cent of the railway network, have already been electrified. This is resulting in foreign exchange saving of Rs 2,500 crore a year _ the cost of diesel if there was no electrification. The railways are also demanding government support on the ground that electrified tracks are environment friendly and result in faster movement of goods and passengers.
The ministry has, however, made it clear that it will take up a route for electrification only if the rate of return from the investment is 14 per cent a year. Electrification projects are charged to capital. For this, a cost-cum-feasibility survey is undertaken before a project is sanctioned. Clearance from the Planning Commission is needed for projects costing over Rs 50 crore. They are then put up for final approval to the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs. The four projects taken up in 1997-98 are: Udana-Jalgaon, Kusunda-Jamuniatand, Ludhiana-Amristsar, Kanpur-Lucknow, and Bhubaneshwar-Kottavalasa.
