By Bizodisha Bureau, Bhubaneswar, December 20, 2015 : The Indian Railways will leave no stone unturned to making Odisha among the leading states in the country in terms of railway network, union minister of state for railways, Manoj Sinha said on Sunday.

]“I had a detailed review on the project works completed last year, the ongoing project works to be completed this year and the future action plan for infrastructure development to provide better railway service in Odisha in the coming days”, Sinha told newsmen after a meeting with senior officials of the East Coast Railway (ECoR) at Rail Sadan here.

The minister asserted that the Indian Railways is trying its best to further broaden the railway network in Odisha to make it as one of the finest in the country. “It is our priority and the special interest of the prime minister to invest more in the states like Odisha,” Sinha added.

The Union minister, who arrived in the city in the morning, said he was briefed by union petroleum and natural gas minister, Dharmendra Pradhan, who was also present in the meeting, about the expectations of the people of Odisha.

The minister made it clear that in the last two railway budgets, the ministry has made more allocations for Odisha which is much higher than the expectation of the state government.

The minster also reviewed the progress of works of Khurda-Balangir, Angul-Sukinda, Haridaspur-Paradip and Talcher-Bimalagada railway tracks. Besides, talks were held to connect the ports of the State with railway lines.

The union petroleum and natural gas minister, Dharmendra Pradhan said the meeting had a detailed discussion the expenditure performance of the two railway budgets and the expenditure to be made for the ensuing budget next year.

“During my earlier visit to Odisha, I had a meeting with some industrial organisations and senior citizens who had given good proposals on the development of railway infrastructure in the state which were discussed in the meeting. Efforts are on by the railway ministry to incorporate these proposals in the forthcoming railway budget. I hope that Odisha will get its desired share in the next railway budget,” Pradhan said.