Funds allocated to Tamil Nadu not refunded: Southern Railway informs

Tamil Nadu : Southern Railway has denied reports that funds allocated for Tamil Nadu railway projects have been returned by the railways.

Media reports have revealed that Southern Railway has returned Rs 728 crore allocated for various new railway line projects in Tamil Nadu including Tindivanam-Tiruvannamalai, Chennai-Mamallapuram-Kaddapa to the Railway Ministry.

In this situation, Southern Railway has clarified that the procedure generally followed in railway administration has been misunderstood.

A press release issued by Southern Railway in this regard: There is no truth in the media reports that Southern Railway has not utilised the funds allocated for ongoing railway projects in Tamil Nadu and returned the same to the Union Railway Ministry.

The funds will be allocated for the project only after various stages including land acquisition for construction of the railway line, preparation of detailed project report and obtaining permission from the Railway Ministry are completed.

In this way, after the funds allocated for each quarter are utilised, the remaining funds will be transferred to projects that require more funds.

Similarly, if for various reasons, the allocated funds cannot be utilised in that particular quarter, the funds will be returned and received in the next quarter.

This is a common practice in Railways. In this context, various new railway projects in Tamil Nadu and Kerala under Southern Railway are currently in the initial stage.

Therefore, the funds not utilised in the current quarter will be utilised in subsequent quarters. We further clarify that there is no shortage of funds for any of the projects being implemented in Southern Railway.

Similarly, it is stated that Southern Railway is committed to fully implement all the projects announced for the states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala.