Budget-2024  

 

Finally it seems decks are cleared for the Naag River Pollution Abatement Project as Rs 500 crore were earmarked in the Union Budget that was tabled in the Parliament on Tuesday. Another important announcement from the view of city was that of Nagpur Metro whose second phase construction has started here but only Rs 683 crore were set aside whereas substantial projects were awarded by the Board. Another major initiative in the budget was about a special package for Irrigation Projects that is primarilymeant to resolve the agrarian distress in backward districts of Vidarbha and Marathwada regions. For the same, Rs 600 crore are mentioned in the budget book. During the last financial year for the same project, Union Government had disbursed Rs 700 crore as per revised estimates of budget that was presented in the Parliament on Tuesday.

 

It means that almost Rs 1,183 crore have been clearly allocated for the Nagpur in the Union Budget on Tuesday. The allocation of Rs 500 crore would play a crucial role in starting the work on controlling the Naag river pollution. The National River Conservation Directorate (NRCD) has reportedly approved the revised plan recently. The delay is costing dearly as the project cost has already shot up further by Rs 200 crore as now figure of Rs 2,702 crore is being quoted from earlier Rs 2,500 crore. The Abatement Project was approved at a cost of Rs 2,117.54 crore about two years back. But delay in finalising the contours of draft plan from Japanese Government, they suggested major changes on project, pushed the approval further ahead. The river which flows through Nagpur city, thus giving its name to the city, is now a highly polluted water channel of sewage and industrial waste.

 

It is also main drainage channel of city and hence carries away all the waste that is generated from households and other establishments. The project is being piloted by Union Minister Nitin Gadkari and he has been pursuing the same at New Delhi end with Ministry of Jal Shakti. Recently he held a meeting of World Bank officials, DG NMCG and Municipal Commissioner to give final shape to the project. Now, the allocation paves way for finalisation of Project Management Consultant (PMC) as the agency will oversee implementation of pollution abatement plan. The Naag River project is approved under the National River Conservation Plan and will be implemented by the National River Conservation Directorate, NRCD. The plan is to reduce the pollution level in terms of untreated sewage, flowing solid waste and other impurities flowing into the Naag river and its tributaries. For the same, sewage treatment plants (STPs) would be constructed on the banks of river that would be connected with the drainage system of respective areas.

 

The water would be released in river post treatment only thereby maintaining its scantily that was prevalent before rise in urbanisation. Metro Project: The second phase of Nagpur Metro is quite crucial as it envisages laying 43.8 km of new track to connect the metropolitan region with the city. The project cost was pegged at Rs 6,708 crores for which this year only Rs 683 crore are provided while in the last financial year Rs 472.88 crore were given. At present many of the tenders for the second phase have been opened and also awarded. The project is being executed jointly with Maharashtra Government with loan component from German Government. Irrigation: Similarly the continuity in allocation for irrigation projects in Central budget is crucial to strengthen the agricultural base in backward Vidarbha and Marathwada regions. Several small and medium projects are at various stages and infusion of funds would help in taking them to completion. For example the biggest project is that of Gosikhurd where many lift irrigation schemes have been commissioned by Maharashtra Government to complete the final leg for distribution of water from the dam.

 

 

 Railway Budget kept focus on continuity along side gradually introducing modern changes with an eye on future wherein it contemplates increasing the throughput to 3000 metric tonnes while planning for high speed movement of long distance trains. As to region, the ongoing works including 3rd and 4th line on Nagpur-Sevagram-Wardha, new line from Wardha to Nanded via Pusad (Yavatmal), Wardha-Ballarshah 3rd line, Itarsi-Nagpur 3rd line got significant allocation for the financial year 2024-25.

 

At South East Central Railway, the Nagpur Division has only one important work that is Rajnandgaon-Nagpur 3rd line, a section of 228 km, where capacity addition is on. The thinking at Rail Bhavan since last few years remains on ending the bottlenecks at 56 divisions of Indian Railways for which new lines programme was introduced and budget provisions are aligned on the same vision. Also, additional lines were sanctioned and gauge conversion project undertaken to provide for connecting network that comes handy whenever there is disruption on any line.

 

The wider view is that these projects needs to be commissioned at faster rate as then only its benefit would accrue to economy. As to region for the Wardha-Nanded new line, a 270-km stretch, Rs 750 crore are allocated which is quite significant. The higher allocation comes as Railways have completed land acquisition and pace of construction needs to be increased. For the same, allocation of Rs 450 crore is made from Capital Fund and Rs 300 crore from Safety Fund. Another important project is Nagpur-Sevagram 3rd line and 4th line that is aimed at decongesting two important routes of Railways, the Grand Trunk as well as Mumbai-Howrah. For 76.3 km 3rd line, Rs 134 crore are allocated and for 78.70 km 4th line, Rs 120 crore are earmarked in the budget. The current focus of Construction Division of Central Railway remains on Contd on page 2