The Opposition members on Monday sought to attack the Government for not allocating adequate funds to complete the approved Railway projects, but focusing on elite ‘bullet trains’ without completing existing projects requiring budgetary support and picked holes in its public-private partnership (PPP) model.
Participating in the discussion on the Railway Budget in the lok Sabha, BJP ally Shiv Sena also expressed its “unhappiness” over the alleged neglect of Maharashtra with its members putting forth different demands including covering Aurangabad in the bullet train project, creation of a separate Railway zone (including Nanded and Vidarbha) and allocation of resources and completion of projects in Marathwada region.
The Congress-led Opposition questioned how the agenda outlined in the Railway Budget would be implemented by the cash-strapped Railways as there is no financial support from the government unlike China and other developed nations. Congress member and former Railway Minister KH Muniyappa criticised the provisions in the Rail Budget for PPP model of development, saying the NDA Government was trying to “sell out” the public sector units to private players.
Noting that the previous UPA Government had sanctioned several trains to connect Porbandhar in Gujarat to rest of the country, Muniyappa said there was no mention about Mahatma Gandhi’s birthplace in the Budget. Criticising increase in passenger fare and freight charges before the Railway Budget, Trinamool Congress member and former Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi charged the BJP Government with “double standard” for slamming the previous Government for doing the same.
Trivedi was removed as Railway Minister by TMC Chief Mamta Banerjee after he proposed the hike of Rs 2 paise per km. He said Railways cannot generate its own resources and Government has to give budgetary support to it as is being done in China, Japan, Korea and the USA. What is your revenue modelIJ he asked.
Referring to the proposals in the Budget for undertaking various projects through the PPP mode , the TMC leader questioned which private company would be interested in aspects like construction of overbridges and underbridges. He wondered as to why comparison was being made with China. “Government in China gives 160 billion USD to the Railways but here the Government gives only 10-12 billion USD,” the former Railway Minister said.
Kalikesh Narayan Singh Deo (BJD) said Railways should have an efficiency audit to know whether every train was conforming to International Standard of efficiency. He said 50 per cent of Railways resources are spent in giving salary which is internationally only 25 per cent. This needs to be balanced, he said. Deo said Duranto trains started by Trivedi had only 30 per cent occupancy. He pointed out Eastern region has been largely left out in the budget in respect of introducing new trains. While welcoming the railway budget, Shiv Sena MP Chandrakant Khaire he was unhappy too as Marathwada region in Maharasthra has been left out in terms of new railway projects.
Congress MP Rajiv Shankar Rao said that though Maharashtra has given 42 of 48 MPs to the ruling BJP alliance, “no new project” has been allocated to the State. Another TMC MP Suvendu Adhikari slammed the budget for “discrimination” against West Bengal- the first such instance since Independence, he claimed. The MP said very little allocation was given to 34 already approved projects for West Bengal .
AAP MP Dharam Vir Gandhi from Patiala was apprehensive that the BJP Government may gradually go for “complete privatisation” of Railways and questioned the need for costly bullet trains when several sanctioned projects were pending due to shortage of resources. MB Rajesh (CPI-M) described as “disastrous” the budgetary provisions for PPP and FDI for building railway infrastructure and criticised bullet train project.
He said the Government’s “priorities are wrong” and asked the Centre to step up public investment to rebuild railway infrastructure. Jai Prakash Narayan Yadav (RJD) said talking about bullet trains is a “gross injustice” to the people of India and the government can run 200 Rajadhani trains at the cost of one bullet train. The debate remained inconclusive and the Railway Minister is expected to give his reply on Tuesday.