While he has been emphatically ruling out the possibility of mid-term polls, Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav is losing no time in showering his ministry’s largesse on his home state. Considering the political uncertainty at the Centre, Lalu apparently plans to devote more time and attention to Bihar, criss-crossing important places, speeding up works related to new railway projects.

Next week, the minister is scheduled to go on a foundation stone laying spree in Bihar, laying stones for 13 railway projects, including for two major locomotive manufacturing units and six new railway lines.

On October 13, Lalu would lay the foundation stone for a new diesel locomotive factory at Marhaura in Chhapra district, his own constituency. The Rs 2,000-crore project, expected to produce around 100 diesel locomotives annually, is one of the biggest railway project related to setting up a rolling stock manufacturing facility.

On October 15, the minister is scheduled to lay the foundation stone a new electric locomotive factory at Madhepura at a cost of Rs 1,294 crore. This, according to sources, is Lalu’s way of compensating Madhepura, the constituency he relinquished in favour of Chhapra after the last elections.

Even as the Railway Ministry is in the process of roping in private players to set up both these manufacturing units, the minister, it is learnt, was keen to do the honours as quickly as possible.

The two new lines between Bariarpur-Mananpur (via Kharagpur-Lachimpur-Barahat) and Sultanganj and Katuria (via Asarganj, Tarapur and Belhar) were accorded approval by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on August 16 and would cost Rs 251 crore and Rs 289 crore, respectively.

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