Centre should construct airports railway lines in Himachal Deputy CM Agnihotri

Shimla, Mar 24 (PTI) Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri on Monday said the Centre should consider building airports and railway tracks in Himachal Pradesh as at the time of its formation, the state was not financially viable and does not have a large tax base.
     Replying to a question of BJP MLA from Bilapsur Trilok Jamwal about Bhanupali-Bilaspur railway track, Agnihotri said "if the Centre can build airports in Bihar, why can't it be done in Himachal".
     Agnihotri had a narrow escape while landing at Jubbarhatti airport near Shimla on Monday morning as the aircraft missed the landing mark and crossed the studs on the edge of the airstrip.
     Over 30 passengers, including the deputy chief minister and the Director General of Police, were on the flight.
     Agnihotri informed that the Bhanupali-Bilaspur railway track will be completed by 2027.
     He said that the 63.1-km-long track would cost about Rs 6,753 crore of which Rs 5000 crore have already been spent on the project.
     The state has given around Rs 850-900 crore for the project, he added.
     Responding to the question as to why the government had shifted the money meant for the railway track to the state treasury, Agnihotri said the money would be released to the departments as and when they need to make payments for the project.
     He said, "We are also requesting Railways to put us in the category where Centre pays for the land acquisition."
     When BJP MLA Randhir Sharma pointed out that the railway track is scheduled to go up to Beri beyond Bilaspur, Agnihotri asked why the MLA was worried about the businessman who has a cement factory near Beri.
     Replying to a question of Congress MLA from Nalagarh Hardeep Bawa, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said the slow pace of work on Pinjore-Baddi-Nalagarh National Highway expansion was hampering the industrial growth and revenue generation from the toll barrier.
     "We will discuss this with the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) and Union Minister Nitin Gadkari to expedite the process," he said.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)