Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu is planning to bring in a legislation during the next Budget Session to enhance powers for railways for carrying out tariff reviews and public-private-partnerships (PPP) to bring about a holistic improvement in the financial health of the public transport behemoth.
Prabhu, who completes one year as Rail Minister in the Modi Government this weekend, said that a Bill to form Rail Regulator (on the lines of TRAI) has to be approved by the Parliament which will then have the powers to review passengers and freight tariffs.
Keen on the PPP mode, Prabhu said the national transporter would also seek suggestions from the common man before the draft Bill is prepared. Ministry sources said the Bill may be introduced during the next Budget Session.
“I changed the impression of Budget which so far was confined to only announcements of new trains, stoppages etc. To me budget means basically financial aspects as to how do we run things. My budget means action and we have been able to honour most of the commitments in my maiden rail budget,” Prabhu told The Pioneer while talking about his one-year achievements in office.
Prabhu took over as the second Railways Minister in the Modi Government on November 9, 2014 from DV Sadanand Gowda.
While devoting much of his time to improve the financial health of railway sector, Prabhu said, similarly, his focus was also on passenger orientation. He had recently received applause from Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his performance. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley too on Wednesday appreciated the functioning of Railways under Prabhu.
“Operation of train services improved. When I took over, it was 64 percent punctuality. Today, it has gone upto 82 percent. I am sure with improved rail infrastructure, we will reach 100 percent. Cleanliness has been top priority and we are getting good feedbacks from passengers and rail users. Safety and use of information technology is also on top priority and we have involved our top officers on social websites. Now we have been monitoring closely the festival rush and we have been able to augment 20 percent accommodation with additional trains and coaches,” Prabhu said.
Explaining the Government’s decision to open up the Railways to private stakeholders, Prabhu said that it is ensure a constant stream of income for the Railways. Referring to the transformations being undertaken in the huge organisation including the re-development of about 400 railway stations, Prabhu talked about the scope of investments from private players to upgrade and expand stations by constructing malls, new tracks, creating separate freight and passenger corridors. "This can be done by adopting equity route and working with Indian companies on zero-risk basis with an assured financial return," Prabhu, who was the Power minister in the Vajpayee government, maintained.
In a lighter vein, Prabhu also criticised the last rail budget of the UPA Government and pointed undertaking only populist measures can damage an orgnisation. "There were 16 pages dedicated only to train stoppages without an application of mind. These kind of exercises need funds. I understand the anxiety of Parliamentarians for trains and stoppages and for this I have appointed nodal officers with whom the MPs or State Heads can discuss the modalities and understand the system first," Prabhu said.