The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) in its draft report said CBI should investigate the remaining cases of “corruption” involving Rs 29,000 crore in implementation of the railways’ dual freight policy (DFP) from 2007-08 to 2011-12. During this period RJD chief lalu Prasad Yadav and TMC chief Mamata Banerjee
were the Railway Ministers.
Even though the financial loss of expected goods earnings is to the tune of Rs 29,236.78 crore, the CBI is investigating very few cases involving only Rs 305.06 crore, PAC said in the report on the action taken by the Ministry.
The committee is “shocked” to observe that “Railways Ministry was unable to prevent large scale irregularities and rampant corruption under the DFP during the period 2007-08 to 2011-12”, the draft report said. At a meeting on Friday, a few members of the committee including BJP MP Nishikant Dubey also demanded that the role of former railways ministers lalu Prasad and Mamata Banerjee in this scam should also be investigated.
The dual freight policy was framed with the objective to lower the cost of transport of iron ore for domestic players, but keep freight charges for export of iron ore in sync with its rising international spot market prices. According to the report, a few manufacturing units which availed lower domestic freight rates in transport of iron ore instead of consuming it in their domestic units, exported it, which led to evasion of freight.