Modi govt gave Rs 21,000 cr for Marathwada rail lines, Rs 450 crore came during UPA time: Fadnavis

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Sep 17 (PTI) The Centre under Prime Minister Narendra Modi allocated Rs 21,000 crore in the past 10 years for rail projects in Maharashtra’s Marathwada as against Rs 450 crore during the UPA time, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Wednesday.

Addressing a gathering after inaugurating the Beed-Ahilyanagar section of the Parli-Beed-Ahilyanagar railway project, Fadnavis accused the earlier Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government of stalling rail projects in the region by not releasing funds.

Deputy CM and Beed Guardian Minister Ajit Pawar, minister Pankaja Munde and Beed 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, Fadnavis said.

He said 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,” he claimed.

He said that the BJP-led Mahayuti started work on the projects after coming to power in 2022, with Eknath Shinde as the CM.

“In 2014, our government decided to fulfil this dream of a railway line to Beed, envisioned by BJP leader late Gopinath Munde. The electrification work of the Beed-Ahilyanagar section (about 130 km) will be completed in the next 3-4 months,” he said.

Ajit Pawar said the line would be extended up to Pune and Mumbai in 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 said.

He appealed to people to think about where the world is heading today and why differences among communities are increasing. “We are not here to do caste-based politics but to ensure the welfare of society,” he said.

Beed MP Bajrang Sonawane, who belongs to the NCP (SP), demanded a Solapur-Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar rail line, saying it will help middle-class people travel to Mumbai and transport farm produce to big cities.

Hitting back at Sonawane, Pankaja Munde said, “Those who are going to travel on this line know very well who all have contributed to this project. (Former Beed MP and her sister) Pritam Munde should be given the credit. Bajrang Sonawane is lucky that someone else sowed the seeds, and ‘you are here to reap the crop’.” According to officials, a regular train will run between Beed and Ahilyanagar from September 18, from Monday to Saturday every week. PTI AW NR