SHIMLA, 19.02.25-Revenue Minister Jagat Singh Negi and Public Works Minister Vikramaditya Singh have termed the statement made by Union Minister of State for Railways, Ravneet Singh Bittu, as misleading and factually incorrect. In a statement issued today, both ministers stated that the initial estimated cost of the Bhanupalli-Bilaspur rail line was around Rs. 3,000 crore, with the central government committed to providing 75 percent of the funding and the estimated cost of land acquisition was pegged at Rs. 70 crore.

The Ministers pointed out that the overall cost of constructing the rail line has now more than doubled to over Rs. 7,000 crore. Additionally, the cost of land acquisition has surged to Rs. 1,100 crore, while the Union Government has out rightly refused to provide more than Rs. 70 crore for this purpose. As a result, the entire expenditure on land acquisition is being borne by the State Government.

Jagat Singh Negi and Vikramaditya Singh further said that, since 1^st March, 2023, the present State Government has contributed nearly Rs. 300 crore to the Rail Vikas Nigam Limited for railway development projects in Himachal Pradesh. This contradicts the claims made by the Union Minister of State for Railways, as his statements are not based on facts.

The Ministers said that the Railway Ministry’s website publishes the annual Pink Book, which lists railway construction projects planned for a financial year. However, the latest Pink Book has not been uploaded yet, making it impossible to verify the claim that Rs. 11,806 crore has been allocated for Himachal Pradesh. The ministers clarified that this amount is not a special grant but merely a budgetary estimate. They said that in 2021-22, against an allocated budget of Rs. 1,289 crore for the Bhanupalli-Bilaspur rail line, only Rs. 325 crore was spent. While in 2022-23, out of Rs. 1,289 crore, only Rs. 730 crore was utilized and in 2023-24, until the Union Budget was presented, only Rs. 936 crore was spent out of the allocated Rs. 1,289 crore.

They said that over the past three years, only Rs. 1,991 crore has been spent against a total budget of Rs. 3,867 crore. These figures show that Union Minister Bittu’s statement lacks factual accuracy. The Ministers also emphasized that these budgetary provisions are made for all States, and Himachal Pradesh has not received any special favour. On the contrary, certain other States have been granted significantly higher financial assistance for railway projects.

Jagat Singh Negi and Vikramaditya Singh also pointed out that between 2014 and 2024, Himachal Pradesh received much less financial support from the central government compared to Uttarakhand. They criticized the Union Minister for failing to mention that such financial assistance is part of centrally sponsored schemes, which are not a favour but a constitutional right of the people of Himachal Pradesh.

They further remarked that while Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks about cooperative federalism, while other BJP leaders like Leader of Opposition Jai Ram Thakur portray constitutionally mandated financial assistance as a benevolent gesture from the central government.