CM disappointed at HP being ignored in Railway Budget

Shimla, Feb 27 (UNI) Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh today expressed disappointment at the inadequate funds being given to the state in the Railway Budget presented in the Parliament yesterday.

''Though I welcome the Railway Budget in general, but I am certainly disappointed at the non-inclusion of major projects in Himachal in this year's budget,'' he said after former Chief Minister P K Dhumal raised the issue in the Assembly soon after the Question Hour.

Mr Singh said he would personally meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the Railway Minister Lalu Prasad and convey the disappointment of the people of the state and urge them to do whatever was possible and rectify the mistake.

''I was more disappointed since the Prime Minister had already announced that the Bilaspur-Bhanupalli rail line would be taken up as a national project and the Nangal-Talwara line would be completed within two years, which have not been mentioned in the railway budget.'' He said the Bhanupalli-Bilaspur line was crucial for Himachal Pradesh as it would connect a number of districts and open up the hinterland for industrialisation.

The Nangal-Talwara rail line was an ongoing project and there must be some money allocated for it, the details of which we are yet to received, he said.

Earlier, as soon as the question hour came to an end, Mr Dhumal raised the issue in the assembly, saying that justice had not been done with the state as none of the main rail line projects, important for the hill state, had been mentioned in the Railway Budget.

''I request the Chief Minister to adopt a resolution which we will support to plead Himachal's case before the Centre,'' he said.

He said some other smaller states had been given far more funds but the state's claims had been practically ignored.

The negligible funds allocated to the state in the railway budget was a matter of concern for all, he said.

The former chief minister advised the state government to present its case before the Centre more forcefully as it concerned the interest of the entire state.

UNI