Ashwini Vaishnaw lauds ₹1,73,000 crore railway projects in Maharashtra, slams UPA for giving state ‘less’

Railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw informed on Friday that the Union Cabinet has sanctioned ₹1,73,000 crore worth of railway projects connected with Maharashtra until now.

Vaishnaw was addressing a press conference, which was also attended by Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis.

"Till now, overall ₹1 lakh 73 thousand crore worth of projects connected with Maharashtra, including the bullet train and corridors, and the redevelopment of stations, have been approved. ₹1,73,804 crore worth of projects are connected with Maharashtra," ANI quoted Vaishnaw as saying.

Vaishnaw also talked about the 2025-26 Union budget and said that more than ₹23 thousand crore had been allocated for the state of Maharashtra.

"For the sanction of such big projects, there is a need for funding every year; that is why you must have noticed how in the (Union) budget till now, there has been an allocation of ₹23,778 crore," he added.

The union minister highlighted the various corridor projects and the redevelopment of stations, including the Ballarshah-Gondia, Jalna-Jalgaon, and others, in the state. He lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi for development projects impacting regions like Marathwada and Vidharbha.

"PM Modi, in the recent cabinet meeting, has sanctioned the Ballarshah-Gondia's doubling project of 240 kilometres, which has been given ₹4,819 crore. With the doubling of Ballarshah and Gondia, we will get a corridor for north-to-south movement. With this, the aspirational districts, like Vidharba and Marathwada, will be impacted as they will be connected," he added.

The Union cabinet met on April 9, where they approved various development projects for railways and the approval of modernising the Command Area Development and Water Management as a sub-scheme of Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana.

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Ashwini Vaisnaw slams UPA regime for giving less to state

Ashwini Vaishnaw went on to slam the previous UPA-led government, saying that they had only given a little more than ₹1 thousand crore for Maharashtra. According to him, that amount has now been increased 20 times by the Union cabinet led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"When the INDI alliance, called the UPA then was there, then only ₹1,171 crore was allocated to Maharashtra, but now (PM) Modi has given at least 20 times more than that, which will transform the rail network of Maharashtra," he said.

Lauding the historic third term of the Modi-led government, the minister highlighted how, since 2024, thousands of crores of rupees have been sanctioned to connect various areas in the state and foster development.

"In the historic third term of PM Modi, multiple projects for the Railways have been sanctioned one by one. Like the one connecting the Ajanta caves, Jalna-Jalgaon was sanctioned with a project cost of ₹7,106 crore. Then Manmad-Indore, which has a significant portion in Maharashtra, was sanctioned ₹18,000 crore with cabinet approval. The fourth line of Manmad-Jalgaon was sanctioned with ₹2,700 crore. Vasaval-Khandwa was also sanctioned," he said.