Bengaluru, Feb 5 (IANS) Union Minister for Food, Public Distribution and Consumer Affairs Pralhad Joshi said on Wednesday that the BJP-led NDA government has allocated nine times more funds to Karnataka’s railway projects in the latest budget compared to the UPA era.
He added that the Union government has consistently provided similar allocations over nine consecutive years.
The Union Minister, who is also the MP from Dharwad in Karnataka, provided a strong counter to the Congress’s claims about the state not receiving sufficient funds in the Union Budget.
“During the five-year tenure of the UPA government (2009-14), the annual average railway budget for Karnataka was Rs 835 crore. However, in the 2025-26 budget alone, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi government has allocated Rs 7,559 crore, which is nine times higher,” he said.
He added that while the UPA government had allocated an annual average of Rs 835 crore, the NDA government has increased it nine-fold to Rs 7,559 crore.
“Key railway developments in Karnataka include, the construction of 31 new railway tracks and a total of 3,840 kilometres of new railway tracks are being developed across 31 projects at an estimated cost of Rs 47,016 crore,” he said.
He further underlined that Rs 1,981 crore has been allocated to modernise 61 major railway stations under the “Amrit Bharat Station” scheme.
“Ten Vande Bharat Express trains are currently operating through 12 districts of Karnataka, stopping at 18 key stations,” he stated.
He said that since 2014, Karnataka has constructed 1,652 km of new railway tracks, surpassing the total railway network of Sri Lanka.
He added that under the UPA government, only 113 tracks were built, whereas the NDA government has constructed 150 new tracks.
“96.5 per cent of Karnataka’s railway network and a total of 3,233 km covering 294 railway routes have been electrified. During the UPA era, only 18 routes were electrified, whereas, under the NDA government, the number has increased 16 times,” he said.
He said that for the convenience of passengers, Karnataka now has: Wi-Fi facilities at 335 railway stations; lifts at 61 locations; and escalators at 43 locations.
“An amount of Rs 1,240 crore is being invested in the redevelopment of four key railway stations in Karnataka. Bengaluru Cantt Station is being developed with Rs 475 crore. Yeshwantpur station at Rs 367 crore; Sir M. Visvesvaraya Terminal at Rs 300 crore and the tender process initiated for the Tumakuru Station at Rs 88 crore,” he said.
The Union Minister said that with these developments, Karnataka’s railway infrastructure is receiving an unprecedented boost, significantly enhancing connectivity and convenience across the state.
–IANS
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