Chowta urges State govt. to relinquish its share with KRCL in favour of Indian Railways

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangaluru, December 25, 2024: Dakshina Kannada Member of Parliament Capt. Brijesh Chowta on Tuesday urged the Karnataka government to relinquish its share with the Konkan Railway Corporation Ltd. (KRCL) in favour of the Indian Railways (IR) to pave way for merging KRCL with the IR.

Addressing press persons here Capt. Chowta said: “It is the best option and solution available for the development of railway infrastructure in the coastal belt now. Let it (Karnataka government) show its intent (for relinquishing its share).”

It may be mentioned here that Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw informed the Lok Sabha on this November 27 that Railway Ministry now holds 65.97% of the shares, followed by 15.57%, 10.62%, 4.25%, and 3.59% shares held by Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala, and Goa, respectively. And only Goa has conveyed its willingness to relinquish its share.

The Ministry had asked the shareholding State governments to contribute to capital expenditure in the KRCL as per their share or relinquish their shares in favour of the Ministry. This was needed in view of the KRCL infrastructure requiring major renewal/replacement of capital assets, as they have become more than 25 years old.

Meanwhile, Karnataka government told the Legislative Assembly in the recently concluded Belagavi session that it was in complete agreement over the merger of KRCL with the IR and it was awaiting a response from KRCL with regard to the exit option.

Addressing press persons Capt. Chowta said that he will continue to pursue the matter relating to the demand for bringing about 20 km stretch of the Southern Railway in Mangaluru area under the administrative control of South Western Railway due to logistical reasons. He has already apprised the Railway Minister on the need for the same.

Sign MoA

The MP demanded that Karnataka government sign a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) with the Union government to identify beneficiaries for Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana – Urban (PMAY-U) 2.0.

The identification of the beneficiaries is done by the respective State/UT governments based on eligibility criteria defined in the scheme guidelines. As a pre-requisite, States/UTs were mandated to sign a MoA with the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs agreeing on implementation of reforms stipulated in the scheme guidelines and initiate the demand survey for submission to the Ministry for sanctioning of houses, he said.

Mayor Manoj Kumar and former Mayor Premananda Shetty were present at the press conference.