MoS for Railways Rajen Gohain admits his mistake; BJD slams centre for blaming state without knowing basic facts
Bhubaneswar: Union Minister of State for Railways Rajen Gohain failed to answer basic questions put to him by reporters here, Saturday.
Gohain in his address at the BJP office here alleged several
railway projects could not
progress in Orissa due to delays in land acquisition by the BJD government.
The Centre had sanctioned Rs 5,100 crore for railway infrastructure in state, he said, but many projects were lagging behind due to non-availability of required land. “The state government has not been able to provide land for projects leading to delays.”
When asked what projects were lagging behind for land, he failed to provide the details of projects.
“I don’t have facts and figures right now about the railway projects in Orissa. I was supposed to take the East Coast Railway general manager (GM) with me so that he could have answered some of your questions. It was my my take,” the Union minister admitted.
“I suddenly came to the party office. Usually, we hold press meets in the presence of officials who can respond to reporters’ queries,” he averred.
He, however, assured to circulate the project details to the press. But, no communication was made available to mediapersons till late in the evening.
The minister said there was no paucity of funds for railway projects in the state. “We are not able to progress due to non acquisition of land,” Gohain said, adding the state government should expedite land acquisition process and hand them over to the railways for speedy disposal of projects.
BJD spokesperson Pratap Keshari Deb, meanwhile, criticised the minister for blaming the state government without going through the facts.
“The statement of Gohain exposed the BJP. The party has been deputing Union ministers to malign the state government for political reasons. The people of Orissa will give them a befitted reply in the days to come,” Deb asserted.
Commerce and Transport Minister Nrushingha Sahoo also questioned the sincerity of the railway ministry in completing the ongoing projects in the state.
“They (railways) have not completed works even after getting adequate land. The ministry is trying to shift its blame on others. They are not sincere,” Sahoo said.
On the delays in land acquisition for some projects, Sahoo said, “The delays are due to various land acquisition acts. The Centre has enacted a new land acquisition Act in 2015 which has complicated things. Earlier, there was a special land acquisition law for railway projects.”
PNN