Measures in place to expedite railway lines electrification: Govt

New Delhi: To expedite electrification of railway lines, the government Monday said it has put in place better project monitoring mechanism besides giving more powers to field units for award of contracts, among other measures.

Minister of State for Railways Manoj Sinha informed the Lok Sabha during Question House that more than Rs 3,820 crore has been spent towards electrification projects from April 2011 to December 2014 period.

The expense, during this period, is more than Rs 3,765 crore allocated under Plan Head 'Railway Electrification'.

According to Sinha, steps are being taken to expedite the electrification of railway lines.

"To expedite electrification of railway lines in the country, including Maharashtra, various steps have been taken, which inter-alia include award of turn key contracts, cultivation of new agencies for works, better project monitoring mechanism and enhancing power of field units for award of contracts," he said.

In the 12th Five-Year Plan period (2012-17), a target of 6,500 route kilometre has been set for electrification. Out of that 2,667 route kilometre was electrified 2012-14 period.