New Delhi, Feb 24 (Inditop.com) Passengers were spared a fare hike, freight rates were cut for grain and kerosene and 54 new trains proposed in India’s railway budget for 2010-11 that also pushes for private capital to expand the world’s second largest rail network under a single management.
“In the present economic situation, when the country is about to return to a high growth path, I do not wish to impose any burden on citizens,” Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee told the Lok Sabha, the lower house of parliament, Wednesday.
“Therefore, I do not propose any increase in passenger fares of any class or category of trains. Similarly, I do not intend to increase freight tariff,” she said in her marathon 110-minute speech, amid numerous interruptions that often made her flare up.
Banerjee also announced the upgrade of 94 stations, launch of double-decker trains, 522 hospitals and diagnostic centres, target of 1,000 km new lines, 10 auto ancillary hubs, high-speed passenger corridors, six drinking water plants and housing for all railway staff in 10 years.
“We have set our goals in the Vision 2020 document and we will achieve it,” the minister said, referring to the new policy initiative unveiled in December that has set a target of over 25,000 km of routes into double or multiple lines against 18,000 km today.
“It is a fact that administrative and procedural delays, external and internal, take place, discouraging prospective investors. We will need to overcome this,” she said, adding that the “typical negative approach” must also change.
She, accordingly proposed a new business structure and a special task force to clear proposals within 100 days and said policy guidelines in this regard will be made easy, simple and investment friendly to attract funds to the sector — all of which had India Inc elated.
At the same time, it was evident the feisty minister from West Bengal had an eye on the assembly elections in her state, scheduled next year, unveiling a host of projects that are to come up there — including some new wagon and coach factories.
“I am happy there are lots of projects for West Bengal. But the minister has a clear eye on the assembly elections. The budget has clear political overtones,” Gurudas Dasgupta, Communist Party of India leader who also hails from West Bengal, remarked later.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj and Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee were among those in the house, presided over by Speaker Meira Kumar.
This was Banerjee’s fourth budget of her career as railway minister and the second for the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government in its second straight term after being voted back to office in May last year.
According to her, 117 out of the 122 new trains promised in her last budget will be flagged off by March 31, within a matter of seven months, which was a commendable effort.
Seeking to give safety issues due consideration, the minister said there were a few cases of unfortunate accidents in the past and said these would be prevented by adopting the highest level of technology and manpower training.
“Within five years, we will have 13,000 out of unmanned level crossings manned – 3,000 this fiscal and 1,000 in the coming fiscal,” she said, referring to the high number of accidents at such crossroads.
The budget came against the backdrop of the share of Indian Railways in the movement of goods, vis a vis truckers, falling from 24.07 percent in 2001-02 to 20.89 percent in 2008-09 and further to 19.32 percent in the first 10 months of this fiscal.
Yet, the minister said this fiscal will end with a net profit of Rs.1,328 crore. She added that the freight target for the coming fiscal will be 944 million tonnes.
Indian Railways runs the world’s second largest network under a single management with a network of 64,015 route-km to ferry 18 million passengers and 850 million tonnes of cargo on 17,000 trains daily from 6,906 stations.
The main highlights of the 2010-11 railway budget include:
— No increase in passenger fares
— Rs.100 reduction in freight per wagon for fertilisers and kerosene
— Free travel for cancer patients in 3rd AC classes
— Cost-sharing in public-private-partnership (PPP) mode in some gauge-conversion projects
— Further extension of Kolkata Metro on priority basis
— Stations to be named after Bahadur Shah Zafar, Tagore family
— Karmabhoomi trains to be introduced for migrant labour
— New Janmabhoomi train between Ahmedabad and Udhampur
— Special “Bharat Teertha” train to run around India to commemorate Tagore’s 150th birth anniversary
— Railway line to be extended from Bilaspur in Himachal Pradesh to Leh in Jammu and Kashmir
— Andaman and Nicobar Islands to get railway line from Port Blair to Diglipur
— Sikkim capital Gangtok to be connected by rail from Rangpo
— 2011 being 150th anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore, special train to be run from West Bengal to Bangladesh
— Gross earnings in 2009-10 estimated at Rs.88,281 crore
— Working expenditure in 2009-10 estimated at Rs.83,440 crore
— Expenses during 2010-11 estimated at Rs.87,100 crore
— Thrust on expansion in 2010-11 with allocation of Rs.4,411 crore
— Kashmir rail link to be extended to Sopore in the north of the valley
— Net profit of Rs.1,328 crore in 2009-10
— 10 automobile ancillary hubs to be created
— Twenty-two million energy saving CFLs for lighting distributed already
— Policy decision to employ one member of family whose land is requisitioned for railway projects
— North-south, east-west dedicated freight corridors to be created
— Construction of high-speed passenger rail corridors envisaged
— More multi-functional hospitals to be set up
— Educational facilities to be set up for children of 80,000 women families
— Special facilities to be established for gangmen
— Insurance facilities for licensed porters as part of railway’s corporate social responsibility
— Centre for railway research to be established with Indian Institutes of Technology and Defence Research and Development Organisation
— Will involve unions in policy making
— Integral Coach Factory Chennai to be further modernised
— New wagon repair shop in Mumbai
— Design, development and testing centre for railway wheels at Bangalore
— Within five years, all unmanned level crossings to be manned
— Construction of more underpasses, besides road overbridges
— Greater coordination with state governments to protect railway property
— Security of women passengers to be improved
— Ex-servicemen to be employed in Railway Protection Force
— Five sports academies to be set up
— Astroturf to be provided for development of hockey
— Employment opportunities for sports persons
— Railways to be lead partner for Commonwealth Games
— Special drive to increase passenger amenities
— Upgrade of 94 stations
— Six new drinking water bottling plants in PPP mode
— Modern toilets at railway stations
— More ticketing centres to help the public
— Acquisition of cutting edge safety technology
— 1,000 route km to be created
— Special task force for clearing investment proposals in 100 days
— New business model to be created
— No privatisation of railways
— But greater participation of private sector
— 117 of 120 new trains for current fiscal to be flagged off
