Bengaluru's suburban rail needs Rs 1,000 cr to take off, no clarity from Centre yet

The suburban rail project requires an initial funding of Rs 1,000 crore to take off but the Union government has no clarity on clearning the project within a month's time, as hoped by the Railway Board.

Union Minister of State for Railways Suresh Angadi, who addressed a press conference after inaugurating the electrifiied sections of railway line in Uttar Pradesh, did not provide any specific time frame for the project.

When asked whether the Cabinet Committee of Economic Affairs will clear the project this time, the minister replied by asking, "Why are you doubting us?"

On explaining that the project was cleared two years ago during the 2018-19 budget but has failed to take off, the minister said, "During that time, Karnataka had a coalition government and nobody pursued the project. Since I became minister, I am working it take it forward," he added.

Karnataka Railway Infrastructure Development (K-RIDE) Limited Managing Director Amit Garg, who spoke to mediapersons on the sidelines of the event, said they were in talks with several international institutes for funding the loan component of the Rs 18,600-crore project.

Both the state and the Centre will be funding 20% each of the project while the remaining 60% will have to be sourced through loans.

To a question, Garg said that 5% of the total cost or roughly Rs 1,000 crore initial allocation was required for beginning work on the project.