The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on Wednesday approved seven multi-tracking projects of Indian Railways at an estimated cost of around Rs 32,500 crore, Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said. The proposed projects, which will be fully funded by the Centre, will help increase the existing line capacity, smoothen train operations, reduce congestion and facilitate ease of travelling and transportation. The projects covering 35 districts in nine states -- Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Odisha, Jharkhand and West Bengal -- will increase the existing network of Indian Railways by 2,339 km and provide employment of an estimated 7.06 crore man-days to the people of the states.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Rajasthan on July 7 and 8 during which he will inaugurate and lay the foundation stones of about 50 projects worth around Rs 50,000 crore, official sources said Tuesday.
Addressing a public rally in his parliamentary constituency of Varanasi, Modi said the schemes earlier were meant for a select few and the past governments did not get seek feedback from the ground.