The announcement of a suburban railway system for the technology hub — Bengaluru comes as a welcome relief as the city is choking with traffic perils.

The total outlay for Karnataka as per the Budget for 2016-17 is ₹2,779 crore. The money being released is for executing many ongoing projects such as railway lines, gauge conversion, doubling, metro transport planning and for railway electrification.

“The State is disappointed with the Railway Budget. No new projects were announced,” said Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. “Four ministers and 17 BJP MPs from Karnataka have failed to highlight the State’s needs,” he added.

On the execution of suburban railway system for Bengaluru city, Chief Minister said he looks forward to work with the railway ministry.

Reacting to the Rail Budget, Anuj Sharma, President, Bangalore Chamber of Industry and Commerce (BCIC) , said: “The suburban railway system to Bengaluru is welcome as the city is burdened with heavy traffic. We urge the State government to put this on a fast-track mode and align with the Ministry of Railways to implement it early.”

Commending the Budget, BCIC said it appears operationally focused and practical given the kind of capex spend and resource mobilisation at the same time.

Thyagu Valliappa, Senior Vice-President, BCIC , said: “The Rail Budget reinforces commitment to private sector with new initiatives and gives a clear direction to involve the industry players for transforming rail transportation in India.”

Tallam R Dwarakanath, President, Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FKCCI) , said: “We appreciate the Railways’ plan to take up 2,000 km of rail track development and 44 new joint venture (JV) projects on PPP mode.”

“MoUs signed with six States for JVs is welcome,” he added.

“The Minister deserves kudos for doubling this year's investment compared to last year, something that had never been achieved before,” said VK Dikshit, President, Karnataka Small Scale Industries Association (Kassia) , while welcoming the move to introduce overnight double-decker trains on business.

The MSMEs were also relieved that the budget had left the freight rates untouched though a cut in the rates could have helped to increase revenue from freight, Dikshit observed.

Kassia also welcomed the rollout of a number of commuter-friendly measures such as increase in seat quota which was up by 50 per cent for senior citizens, and 33 per cent sub-quota for women under all reserved categories and improving punctuality to 95 per cent.

Related Topics