In the august presence of Minister of Railways, Shri Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu and Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh Shri Raman Singh, Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Ministry of Railways and State Government of Chhattisgarh for “Formation of Joint Venture Companies for Development of Railway Infrastructure in the State of Chhattisgarh” was signed. On the event of Signing Ceremony, Chairman Railway Board Shri A. K. Mital, Member Engineering Shri V. K. Gupta, Member Staff Shri Pradip, Financial Commissioner Shri S. Mookerjee and other Board Members and other Senior Officials were present. On behalf of the Railway Ministry Shri Ved Prakash Dudeja, Executive Director/Works signed the MoUs whereas on behalf of Government of Chhattisgarh Shri Subodh Kumar Singh, Secretary, Department of Commerce & Industry, Govt. of Chhattisgarh signed the MoUs. The MoU was signed in the background of Railway Minister’s Budget announcement regarding setting up of Joint Ventures with States for focused project development, resource mobilization, land acquisition, project implementation and monitoring of critical rail projects.
Speaking on the occasion, Union Minister of Railways Shri Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu thanked the Govt. of Chhattisgarh for having agreed to set up JV Company in State of Chhattisgarh. He further said that the Indian Railways has been working vigorously to reach every corner of the Country through railway lines but people’s expectations are lot more with Railway Ministry. He said that to meet the demands of the country’s people, all State Governments will have to join hands with Railway Ministry and with their becoming partner with the Railway Ministry this will become possible.Shri Suresh Prabhu further stated that the Chhattisgarh is a State which is full of natural resources such as coal etc. Chhattisgarh has lot of potential and the exploration and evacuation of its natural resources to other parts will help the whole country at national level. For this purpose, railway infrastructure needs to be developed in the State which will not only help the people of the State in availing better transport but will also bring huge freight to the Railways. He stated that working through JV Companies will bring Railways to Ground Zero for effective implementation. He hoped early completion of formation of JV Companies in the interest of the country.
In his address, Shri Raman Singh, Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh at the outset thanked Ministry of Railways for supporting the State of Chhattisgarh for development of New Railway Infrastructure. He said that Railway Ministry already did commendable work in Bastar and Saguja District of Chhattisgarh by developing new railway lines which helped Chhattisgarh State a lot. He stated that under the energetic leadership of Shri Suresh Prabhu Railways has been progressing day in and day out. He stated that 760 kilometers additional railway lines have been spread in the State of Chhattisgarh in a very short span of time which in itself is a record. He stated that this new initiative will not only improve transport system of Chhattisgarh State but also help the State in exploring its full potential in better perspective.