The Hindu : Moily unhappy with slow progress of railway projects

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Jan 18, 2004

Karnataka

Karnataka

Moily unhappy with slow progress of railway projects

By Our Staff Correspondent

MANGALORE, JAN. 17. The former Chief Minister, M. Veerappa Moily, has expressed dissatisfaction and disappointment over the "stepmotherly attitude" that the Railway Ministry has shown towards railway projects in Karnataka, especially with regard to the completion the Hassan-Mangalore railway line and the creation of the South Western Railway Zone.

In a letter to the Union Railway Minister, Nitish Kumar, copies of which were released to the press here, Mr. Moily has said that a lot of hopes were raised with regard to Mangalore region. But nothing much had happened so far.

He said he had credible reports that the office of the Deputy Chief Engineer (Construction) in Mangalore was on the verge of being wound up and its functions would be handed over to Deputy Chief Engineer, Southern Railway, at Cannanore in Kerala. This was totally unjustified.

Mr. Moily has pointed out the Minister had promised that Mangalore would be included in the South Western Railway Zone by the end of 2004. Therefore, there was no need to close the office in Mangalore.

Mr. Moily has also expresses anguish over the fact that a number of railway projects had been shelved in Karnataka because of unjustified transfers and retrenchment/termination of staff. The budget grant for railway projects in Karnataka for 1998-99 and 1999-2000 were Rs. 106 crore and Rs. 105 crore, respectively. In 1997-98, the provision for railway projects was Rs. 145 crore and earlier to that it had even exceeded Rs. 1,500 crore a year.

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