Chief Minister (CM) Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday, hailed the Union Government on Wednesday, stating that the Centre under Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi has allocated Rs 21,000 crore in the past 10 years for rail projects in Maharashtra`s Marathwada. He also claimed that only Rs 450 crore was allocated for the region by the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) regime.
CM Fadnavis, while addressing a gathering after inaugurating the Beed-Ahilyanagar section of the Parli-Beed-Ahilyanagar railway project, accused the earlier Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government of stalling rail projects in the region by not releasing funds, news agency PTI reported.
Maharashtra Deputy CM and Beed Guardian Minister Ajit Pawar, Minister Pankaja Munde, and Beed Member of Parliament (MP) Bajrang Sonawane were also present at the event.
“The Central government led by PM Modi allocated Rs 21,000 crore in the past ten years for railway projects in Marathwada, compared to Rs 450 crore given in ten years by the then UPA (United Progressive Alliance) government,” CM Fadnavis further asserted, according to PTI.
He also claimed that despite clearing hurdles concerning land acquisition, the Uddhav Thackeray-led MVA, which was in power for about two-and-a-half years, did not release the state`s 50 per cent share for railway projects in Marathwada. As a result, the projects came to a halt, stated Fadnavis, adding that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Mahayuti government under Eknath Shinde started work on the projects after coming to power in 2022.
“In 2014, our government decided to fulfil this dream of a railway line to Beed, envisioned by BJP leader the late Gopinath Munde. The electrification work of the Beed-Ahilyanagar section (about 130 km) will be completed in the next 3-4 months,” Fadnavis further emphasised, according to PTI.
Meanwhile, Pawar said that the line would be extended up to Pune and Mumbai in the future.
“The people of Beed should reflect on the time taken to complete this Parli-Beed-Ahilyanagar railway line. The work on this project started in 1996 when Suresh Kalmadi was the railway minister. A total of Rs 4,800 crore has been spent on this project so far,” he added.
(With PTI inputs)
