Naveen seeks Rs 3,200 cr for Odisha in Railway Budget

Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik, who is on a visit to Delhi to attend the Chief Ministers’ conference, met Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu today and sought Rs 3,200 crore for the state in the next Railway Budget 2015-16.

Naveen lamented the poor railway network in Odisha and wondered why the tribal districts and Maoist infested areas have been excluded from the railway map. Naveen drew attention to the fact that Odisha contributes over Rs 14,000 crore per annum to Indian Railways.

Odisha received Rs 1,400 crore in this year’s railway budget although the state sought Rs 3,160 crore. Naveen also sought the completion of key ongoing railway projects on Khurda-Delanga-Puri, Cuttack-Barang and Bhubaneswar-Barang routes before Nabakelabara festival in 2015.