Union Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Friday informed the Rajya Sabha that as many as 1,253 Railway stations across the country had been identified for development, out of which 1,215 stations so far have been developed and the remaining stations are set to be developed under Adarsh Station Scheme by 2022-23.
The Minister made the announcement while giving a written reply to a query of BJP MP Narhari Amin.
Responding to the query "whether the beautification of railway stations of the country is being done by the government", Vaishnaw said, "Ministry of Railways has formulated various schemes like Model, Modern and Adarsh Station Scheme for the upgradation and beautification of stations on Indian Railways".
Presently, the Minister said, Railway stations are upgraded and beautified under the 'Adarsh' Station Scheme based on identified need of providing better-enhanced passenger amenities at stations.
"Under 'Adarsh' Station Scheme, 1,253 stations have been identified for development, out of which 1,215 stations so far have been developed and the remaining stations are targeted to be developed under Adarsh Station Scheme by Financial Year 2022-23."
Besides, Vaishnaw said, a new scheme for 'Major Upgradation of Railway Stations' has been recently initiated. "So far, 52 stations have been identified for the upgradation under this scheme."
"The expenditure on beautification and the upgradation of stations under Adarsh Station Scheme is generally funded under Plan Head --53 'Customer Amenities," said the Minister.
"During the Financial Year 2021-22, an amount of Rs 2,344.55 crore was allocated under Plan Head -53, and in the current Financial Year 2022-23, an amount of Rs 2,700 crore has been allocated under Plan Head - 53," said Vaishnaw.
On a question "whether railway stations located in Gujarat have been selected under this scheme", the Minister said there are 32 stations which were identified under the Adarsh Station Scheme in the state of Gujarat. "All 32 stations have been developed under the Adarsh Station Scheme."
The names of stations located in Gujarat identified for development under the 'Adarsh' Station Scheme are Ambli Road, Bechraji, Bhaktinagar, Bhanvad, Bhatariya, Dahod, Gandhidham, Gandhigram, Himatnagar, Jamnagar, Kadi, Khambliya, Kim, oat Kosamba, Lalpurjam, Maninagar, Navsari, New Bhuj, Okha, Palanpur, Sabarmati, Siddhpur, Udhana, Una, Unja, Vadnagar, Vijapur, Visnagar, Vyara, Gandhinagar Capital, Sabarmati BG and Patan.
Under the "Major Upgradation of stations" scheme, Vaishnaw further said a total of five stations such as Udhna, Surat, Somnath, Sabarmati BG and MG and New Bhuj have been identified in Gujarat.
( With inputs from ANI )
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