New Delhi: Minister of State for Railways Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury Monday reviewed all rail projects in West Bengal announced during the last three years in the state during the tenure of Trinamool Congress representatives at the helm of the ministry.
There were about Rs 60,000 crore worth projects announced during the UPA-II rule by Trinamool Ministers Mamata Banerjee, Dinesh Trivedi and Mukul Roy in the last three years.
"Since only one and half year is left for the next Lok Sabha elections, Adhir is keen to prioritise the projects so that some concrete results could be delivered before the polls," a close aide of the Minister said.
Adhir`s meeting with officials of Eastern and South Eastern railways lasted more than two hours as the Minister was briefed about the status of each rail project in Bengal.
"No Bengal project would be derailed as these are UPA projects. But given the railways financial constraint, we would like to prioritise the projects so that some tangible results could be shown," Adhir, a known critic of Mamata, had said earlier.
With Trinamool`s exit from UPA, Congress is in total command of railways with all three Railway Ministers belonging to the party.
Besides the crucial East West Metro project, there were big-ticket projects including an EMU coach factory at Kanchrapara, a wagon manufacturing factory at Kulti and an electric loco assembly and ancillary unit at Dankuni announced for the state by Trinamool Congress.
There are also many ongoing projects involving new lines, gauge conversion and doubling works in the state.
PTI
