Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu on Tuesday said a massive Rs8.5 lakh crore would be pumped into over the next five years to make Indian Railways a viable organisation and bring back the road traffic. Replying to the Rail Budget in the Rajya Sabha, Prabhu allayed apprehensions about workers being retrenched as the public transporter seeks increased private participation and said that funds would be sought from multi-lateral agencies like World Bank, ADB and IFC.
Hitting out at Opposition criticism, he said the Railway Budget has not discriminated against any State and listed out the enhanced allocations to States across the country. The Minister said that Rs two lakh crore would be utilised for network decongestion and an equal amount would be spent for network expansion. Besides, Rs40,000 crore would be utilised for implementing national projects in places like Jammu & Kashmir and another Rs1,27,000 crore would be spent on addressing safety issues, he said.
Participating in the debate, leader of Opposition in the House, Ghulam Nabi Azad demanded timely execution of Banihal to Udhampur railway track saying that delays result in cost overrun. Nl Panchariya (BJP) said more trains were needed to connect some places in Rajasthan to other parts of the country like Chennai and Bangalore and some cities in Gujarat, while lal Sinh Vadodia (BJP) stressed the need to improve rail connectivity within Gujarat. Ramdas Athamale (RPI-A) alleged not much has been earmarked for Maharasthra and wanted the Government not to sell rail tickets beyond the seat capacity. Deputy Chairman PJ Kurien urged Prabhu to look into demands of some Kerala MPs who had met him in his chamber.