LOK SABHA ___

SYNOPSIS OF DEBATES (Proceedings other than Questions & Answers) ______

Tuesday, July 15, 2014 / Ashadha 24, 1936 (Saka) ______

STATEMENT BY MINISTER

Re: Reported meeting of an Indian journalist with Hafiz Saeed in Pakistan.

THE MINISTER OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS AND MINISTER OF

OVERSEAS INDIAN AFFAIRS (SHRIMATI SUSHMA SWARAJ): On the issue which was raised yesterday in the House, I, with utmost responsibility and categorically and equivocally would like to inform this House that the Government of India has no connection to the visit by Shri Ved Prakash Vaidik to Pakistan or his meeting with Hafiz Saeed there. Neither before leaving for Pakistan nor at his arrival there, he informed the Government that he was to meet Hafiz Saeed there.

This was his purely private visit and meeting. It has been alleged here that he was somebody’s emissary, somebody’s disciple or the Government of India had facilitated the meeting. This is totally untrue as well as unfortunate. I would like to reiterate that the Government of India has no relation to it whatsoever.

*MATTERS UNDER RULE 377

(i) SHRI BHARAT SINGH laid a statement regarding need to start work

on multipurpose project for development of various facilities in Ballia

Parliamentary constituency, Uttar Pradesh.

(ii) SHRI BHANU PRATAP SINGH VERMA laid a statement regarding

need to extend Shram Shakti Express running between New to

Kanpur upto Jhansi.

(iii) SHRIMATI JAYSHREEBEN PATEL laid a statement regarding need

to expedite development of National Highway No. 228 declared as a

Dandi Heritage route.

(iv) SHRI DEVJI M. PATEL laid a statement regarding need to provide

better railway connectivity in Jalore Parliamentary Constituency in

Rajasthan.

(v) SHRI JAGDAMBIKA PAL laid a statement regarding need to ensure

timely payment of honorarium to Accredited Social Health Activists

under National Rural Health Mission in Uttar Pradesh and also enhance

the amount of honorarium paid to them.

(vi) SHRI SURESH C. ANGADI laid a statement regarding need to provide

adequate compensation to farmers of Kammakeri village in Belgaum

Parliamentary constituency in Karnataka in lieu of acquisition of their

farm land for Kudachi-Bagalkot railway project in the State.

* Laid on the Table as directed by the Speaker. (vii) SHRI NARANBHAI BHIKHABHAI KACHHADIA laid a statement

regarding need to undertake gauge conversion of Khijadiya-Amreli-

Visavadar-Junagarh railway line and expedite survey work of new

railway line in Amreli Parliamentary Constituency, Gujarat.

(viii) DR. SATYA PAL SINGH laid a statement regarding need to augment

and improve railway facilities providing better railway connectivity in

Baghpat Parliamentary Constituency in Uttar Pradesh.

(ix) SHRI OM BIRLA laid a statement regarding need to exempt Bundi city

in Rajasthan from the forest laws applicable to regions surrounding

Ramgarh wildlife sanctuary to facilitate the development works in the

city.

(x) SHRI RAJEEV SATAV laid a statement regarding need to improve

BSNL service in Hingoli Parliamentary Constituency, Maharashtra.

(xi) SHRI R. P. MARUTHARAJAA laid a statement regarding need to set

up a Textile Park in Perambalur district, .

(xii) SHRI V. ELUMALAI laid a statement regarding need to construct a

bridge or underpass on NH-45 at Kooteripattu village under Arani

Parliamentary Constituency, Tamil Nadu.

(xiii) PROF. SAUGATA ROY laid a statement regarding need to build a

deep sea port with railway connectivity at Sagar Islands in . (xiv) SHRIMATI SATABDI ROY laid a statement regarding need to

undertake repair and conversion of National Highway No. 60 into four

lane in West Bengal.

(xv) PROF. SADHU SINGH laid a statement regarding need to conduct a

CBI inquiry into the kidnapping and disappearance of children and youth

in Punjab.

(xvi) SHRI SANTOSH KUMAR laid a statement regarding need to fix the

Minimum Support Price of Maize particularly in Purnia Parliamentary

Constituency, Bihar.

(xvii) MOHAMMED FAIZAL laid a statement regarding need to double the

quota of MBBS seats for Lakshadweep.

(xviii) SHRI JOSE K. MANI laid a statement regarding need to amend

Securitisation Act, 2002 providing for relief and exemption to the Rubber

Plantation sector from attachment of collateral in the event of non-

payment of farm loan.

SUBMISSION BY MEMBERS

Re: Situation in Gaza due to alleged attack by Israeli forces on Palestine

civilians.

THE MINISTER OF URBAN DEVELOPMENT, MINISTER OF

HOUSING AND URBAN POVERTY ALLEVIATION AND MINISTER OF

PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (SHRI M. VENKAIAH NAIDU) responding to the issue raised by several hon. Members, said: I have noted the views expressed by the hon. Members from different political parties. The House is aware that it is a highly sensitive matter and also concerning the foreign policy. As rightly said by some of the hon. Members, we have a stated policy with regard to our approach towards Palestine and also towards Israel. So, any move by the Government of

India at this stage should not have implications on our foreign policy. As far as

Government is concerned, we don’t propose to move any Resolution. I would convey the views of the Members to the Minister of External Affairs.

THE BUDGET (RAILWAYS)-2014-15- GENERAL DISCUSSION…. Contd.

DEMANDS FOR EXCESS GRANTS (RAILWAYS)-2011-12

SHRI PRAHLAD JOSHI: After a long gap, a visionary and growth oriented budget has been presented with specific agenda keeping the national perspective in mind. In the last 10 years, the condition of railways has gone from bad to worse. Hon’ble Minister of Railways is trying to bring it on track. In UPA

Government, there were 7 Ministers in 5 years which means their tenure was less than 8 months. How could they have run the Railways? That is why they used it to meet their political ends and personal ambitions. The Congress Government went on announcing the projects without even bothering to start them. Out of 676 projects, 359 projects have not been even half completed for which nearly Rs. 2 lakh crore is needed. We all know what quality of food is supplied in the Railways. Hon’ble Railway Minister has stressed on hygienic food and cleanliness and has also allocated 40 per cent of the money for that. Now, I come to my constituency problems. We are consistently demanding a Hubli-Mumbai train, that is 17317 and 17318, for the last 10 years. I urge you to make this train on daily basis with a convenient time for Hubli and Belgaum people. Hon’ble Minister has announced about the train for Gadag-Pandarpur to promote rail tourism. I request

Hon’ble Minister of Railways to extend it further upto Hubli because Hubli is just

50 kilometres away from Gadag. Hubli is very famous for a famous temple of

Sant Shri Diddaroodh. The hon’ble Minister has not sanctioned any new project.

The work of doubling of Tumkur-Hubli route, which goes to Bangaluru, is pending. I request you to allocate more money for the work. Whenever, new line projects are taken up include Dharwad to Belgaum line via Kittur. I urge you to kindly take care of the interests of Gulbarga and make it a new division of

Railways.

* SHRI SUDHEER GUPTA :

* SHRI HARIBHAI CHAUDHARY :

* SHRI G. HARI :

* SHRI C. MAHENDRAN :

* SHRI CHAND NATH :

* SHRI MULLAPPALLY RAMCHANDRAN :

* SHRI RAJENDRA AGRAWAL :

* Please see Supplement

* SHRI M. UDHAYAKUMAR :

* SHRI ANIL SHIROLE :

* SMT. POONAM MAHAJAN :

* SHRI PRASANNA KUMAR PATASANI :

* ADV. JOICE GEORGE :

* SHRI V. PANENERSELVAM :

* SHRI J.J.T. NATTERJEE :

* SHRI ADHALRAO PATIL SHIVAJIRAO :

* SHRI K.R.P. PRABAKARAN:

* SMT. K. MARAGATHAM :

*SMT. RANJEET RANJAN:

* SHRI R.P. MARUTHARAJAA :

* DR. SIDHANT MOHAPATRA :

* SHRI MUTHAMSETTI SRINIVASA RAO :

* SHRI RAMCHANDRA HANSDAH :

SHRI TAMRADHWAJ SAHU: This Government has come to power by promising moon to the people, by promising containing the prices in a day, by promising to bring back the black money stashed abroad and finally by promising to bring good days but this Government kick started with increasing the unprecedented hike in rail fares. The UPA Government had left railways on a strong wicket. This is absolutely misleading that railways is not in good condition.

Since the Government wanted to increase the railway fares, it is therefore, leveling such allegations. At present, the total length of railway tracks is 1,15,833 K.M.

This has been done during the Congress Government. Earlier 10-12 bogeys trains used to ply now 24 bogeys trains ply. Likewise, 25-30 wagons goods trains used to ply now the number of wagons in a goods train has increased to 58. This time,

Chhattisgarh has got nothing in the railway budget. After examining the railway budget, I have found that in Chhattisgarh Bilaspur zone very important works have been allocated quite negligible amount. Dallirajhara-Jagdalpur rail line has been made an allocation of Rs. 21 crores only though it needs 772 crores of rupees for completing the remaining work. Likewise, only a token amount has been set aside for the ongoing or proposed railway project in Chhattisgarh. Finally I would like to make a demand for introduction of 6 new trains. Durg-Indore express via

Bilaspur-Katni-Guna, Durg-Bokaro steel city express via Rourkela- Ranchi,

Bilaspur-Trivendrum express via Durg –Nagpur-Kalyan-Madgoan, Korba-Nagpur central Shatbdi Express and Guwahati express should be introduced immediately.

SHRI T.G. VENKATESH BABU: First I thank Pyratchi Thalaivi Amma whole-heartedly for reposing her faith in me to fulfill the party’s and her progressive policies and represent the interest of North Constituency on her behalf. The Railway Budget introduced by the Railway Minister is bold and honest. It accepts the shortfalls. There is 25% more budgetary increase on passenger amenities and 40% more on cleanliness. Regarding Chennai suburban train services, the railway has not given adequate attentions since long. The suburban service, particularly between Chennai central and Gummudipoondi is always crowded. There is long pending demand to ply more services. Hon’ble

Finance Minister has announced that Ponneri would be developed as a smart city.

Therefore, the railways should consider at least five minutes frequency of EMU services in this station. I would like to list the long pending demand relating to

Tamil Nadu. Demand for developing a new coaching terminal at Ennore or at

Atthipattu in North Chennai has been long pending. Development of Royapuram as a new modern Third Terminus as Chennai Terminal and Egmore stations are saturated and introducing direct express trains from Ennore to Tirunelveli and

Rameswaram via Royapuram and Chengalpattu has been a popular and long standing demand. There are multiple and diverse issues, which are facing the nation and which need to be addressed on war-footing. The launching of Diamond

Quadrilateral for high speed trains is a good step. The ‘Own Wagon Scheme’, which was announced earlier with much funfair, did not take off. Similarly, no private firms came forward for constructing the dedicated freight corridor scheme under the PPP mode. High speed tracks and dedicated freight lines did not materialize. In all the countries of the world, Railways is prioritized as the public transport and is heavily funded. China is allocating it Rs.1,80,000 crore every year to railway planning. Our Railways has too meager a budgetary support which is just enough to meet out the loss incurred on passenger traffic.

* KUNWAR SARVESH KUMAR :

* SHRI RAVINDER KUSHAWAHA:

* Please see Supplement

* SHRI AJAY NISHAD :

* DR. SWAMI SAKSHIJI MAHARAJ :

* SHRI RAMDAS C. TADAS :

* SHRI TARIQ ANWAR :

SHRI MEKAPATI RAJA MOHAN REDDY: Much has to be done with regard to safety and security of the passengers and expansion of new railway lines and starting of new trains also. In the past, regarding the safety of the Railways constituted some committees. These committees have submitted their repots, but they are still pending with the Railway Ministry. In and

Telangana, there are 29 projects pending. I request the hon. Minister to implement those projects at the earliest. Important project between Nadikudi and Srikalahasti,

Hyderabad and Chennai be implemented. This project has been pending for decades. It would also be an all-weather route. Many times train services get disturbed between and Chennai. So, this line would provide an all- weather alternative route. It had been sanctioned in the Railway Budget of 2010-

11, but its implementation is not moving ahead at all. I request the hon. Minister to give importance to this project. A new train should be introduced between Gudur and Shridi via Vijaywada and Secundrabad. There is also a demand to start a new train between Vijayawada and Bengaluru via and Renugunta. There is also a demand to stop at Coromandal Express, Tamil Nadu

Express and Nizamuddin Garib Rath. There is a demand of providing a half at

Kavali for Yasvantpur- Express, Sabari Express and . The railway is the cheapest mode of transport for passengers as well as freight transportation. The Railways have to find a way to implement all the pending projects and to take up new project also. During Shri Vajpayee’s time National

Highway Projects were taken up. So, I would request the Government of India to find some ways and means to implement all these projects.

* SHRI A. ANWHAR RAAJHA:

SHRI HANSRAJ GANGARAM AHIR: Railway is a vehicle to strengthen the economic and social sector of our country. This rail budget will strengthen the country. This is the new effort of the hon. Minister. During the ten year regime of the previous government 99 projects were announced but only one out of them has been completed. This Budget will help in completion of pending projects of

Railways and the benefit of development will reach to all parts of the country.

Chandrapur is the backward district of Maharashtra. I request to complete the rail projects sanctioned for my constituency. We have demanded a train to Pune which has not been fulfilled. Amravati-Pune train should be extended upto

Balharshah. Secunderabad to Balharshah train should be extended upto Manjhi station. I demand to extend the Ramgirih train upto Balharshah-Chandlaford.

Some trains do not stop at Chandrapur. Stoppage should be provided to all trains at Chandrapur. Survey has already been completed for Nanded-Warda rail line and work is going on that line on a slow pace. That should be completed early. Under passes should be constructed at the no man gates. In my constituency agitation is

* Please see Supplement going on for this. I request the government to take decision in this regard.

Medical test of more than 100 candidates was conducted for recruitment in Central

Railway but they have not appointed so far. I request the Government to appoint those candidates immediately. Some provision should be made for Balharshah to

Surajagarh which is a tribal area and is also infested by naxalism.

* SHRI JHINA HIKAKA :

* SMT. SAKUNTALA LAGURI :

* SMT. RITA TARAI :

* SHRI NAGENDRA KUMAR PRADHAN :

* SMT. DARSHANA VIKRAM JARDOSH :

SHRI VINAYAK BHAURAO RAUT: has its own importance in the history of railways. Today, the length of Konkan railways is 850 kilometers. I demand that Konkan Railway should be under the Indian Railway instead of Konkan Railway Corporation. Konkan railway is the only railway to link north India to . Konkan Railway was envisaged for the benefit of the Konkan but the people of Konkan region are not getting the benefit of Konkan railway. There should be 20 coaches in Rajyarani train and 15 coaches in

Janshatabdi. There is demand from the people that there should be a terminal at

Sawantbari. There is large scale black marketing in e-ticketing booking. New methods should be adopted for booking of tickets for the trains which are running for the people of Konkan region so that the people of that region could avail the

* Please see Supplement benefit thereof. In Konkan region people have to face lot of difficulty during rains because there is no shed over the platforms at railway stations at Konkan region so shed should be provided at all the platforms. I request to introduce a train upto

Goa under Konkan railway.

SHRI RAM KRIPAL YADAV: This rail budget has been presented with a good vision. Railway is an important department and works for the welfare of the people. Railway connects the people. Railway was suffering losses continuously due to lack of vision and the hon. Minister was compelled to increase rail fare before presentation of the rail budget. This is a balance budget. Efforts have been made to give something to every part of the country. There are many serious problems of Bihar. A bridge is being constructed for long to connect North Bihar and South Bihar. Its original cost was Rs.600 crores which has escalated to 2930 crores and even 30 per cent work of the project has not been completed. A bridge is being constructed over the River Ganga and it should be completed at the earliest. A road-cum-bridge has been constructed near , it should be upgraded. DRM office is located in Danapur and the quarters constructed for officers and staff are quite old. Those quarters should be constructed afresh.

There is a need of introducing or Premium trains from Patna to

New Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Pune etc. Racket in railway reservation should be done away with. There is a need to increase the number of trains between Patna and Delhi. Large number of people from Bihar work in Delhi and trains are the only means of commutation for them. The government has resolute to complete the old projects in Bihar and in the country on priority basis. I demand to provide stoppage to Rajendra Nagar, LTT Mumbai, Delhi Guwahati

Brahmaputra Express and Patna Express at Danapur. Patna Delhi Lal

Quila Express and Janata Express have been discontinued but no alternative arrangement has been made for the poor people. There is a need to increase the number of trains. There is no double line between Danapur-Mokama-Mugalsarai, therefore, the line on this section should be doubled. Bihar has been left out in respect of world class stations and Bullet trains. One Bullet train should also be provided to Bihar so that maximum number of people could be benefited.

* SMT. KRISHNA RAJ :

* SMT. RAKSHATAI KHADSE:

SHRI R. RADHAKRISHNAN: Hon. Railway Minister has taken a very practical approach in this Railway Budget. He has concentrated more on improving the services being provided at present by the Railways. He has put a lot of importance to improve safety, hygiene, sanitation and the food provided by the

Railways. So far as railway network in my constituency Puducherry is concerned, the British railway network had excluded Puducherry. So, this exclusion should be transformed into a more inclusive approach and Railways should work out the viability to include Puducherry in most of the train services in the near future.

There are a lot of passengers travelling from Karnataka, Chennai and Kerala to

Pondicherry. So, improving the railway network will definitely bring in a lot of

* Please see Supplement passengers from the southern states. Efficiency should be the guiding factor for the Railways and the Railways should be able to provide services much more efficiently. Besides, profitability should also be there but the burden should not be passed on to the general public.

SHRI DUSHYANT CHAUTALA: In this Railway Budget, there has been an emphasis on modernization of Railway but I would like to bring to the notice of the hon. Minister that due to increase in population the whole railway system has been overfed. So, I would like the Railway Minister to consider introduction of double-decker coaches in trains. With regard to development of border railway, I want to say that on the West we have long lines from Jodhpur-Jaisalmer,

Anupgarh-Chittorgarh-Motigarh-Bikaner, Jodhpur-Agolai-Shergarh-Phalsund and on the North we have Pathankot-Leh, Jammu-Akhnoor-Poonch and Srinagar-

Kargil-Leh. A specific Budget need to be allowed for development of such railway lines. The Governments in the past 10 years have tried to improve the condition with regard to certain basic necessities at the railway station but situation had not improved. The quality of water available at the railway stations is not up to the mark. So, I request the Minister to introduce the RO system on stations like

Jind, Bhiwani and Hisar in Haryana. The hon. Minister had announced to conduct a survey of Hissar-Jind line so I would also like to request him to ex tend that line to Rajokri and Kurukshetra. He has also introduced Shatabdi from Bhatinda to

Delhi. I would request him to run that Shatabdi through my constituency which will connect Sirsa, Hissar, Bhiwani, Rohtak to Delhi on bi-weekly basis. * DR. SUBHASH RAMRAO BHAMRE:

SHRI NEIPHIU RIO: I congratulate the Railway Minister for giving a

Budget highlighting the vision, the innovations and the progressive ideas that are aimed at modernizing the . But at the same time I want to say that in the 50 years of statehood of Nagaland we have only 8 km of tracks touching

Nagaland which was built during British time. This eight km of track is not sufficient. So we had come out with proposal to connect inside Nagaland from

Dimapur to Tizit which is crossing six districts covering about 300 km. Besides, a project was sanctioned in 1997. It was to go from Diphu to Karong but in 2004, this was diverted to Jiribam-Tupul by avoiding the Nagaland state. I want the

Ministry to re-visit this project. The project from Dimapur to Kohima is taking a lot of time. I hope with 54 per cent funding in the north-east, sufficient funds would be given to complete this project. The Dimapur railway station needs upgradation and modernization which should be done on priority basis.

*SHRI P. NAGARAJAN :

* DR. PRABAS KUMAR SINGH:

SHRI RAMESH BIDHURI: For the first time, a good Railway Budget has been presented in the country. Earlier, the previous governments led by Congress

Party had never made efforts to provide better railway amenities to the people of the country. But in this Budget, steps like introducing 58 new trains and developing world class railway stations have been taken. E-governance and

* Please see Supplement making railways a paperless department have been proposed as a mission in this

Budget. Now, Delhi is proposed to be connected to Agra, Chandigarh and Kanpur with high speed trains. There is a railway station at Tuglakabad which is the biggest yard in India. The condition of the station is very bad and the condition of railway colony located nearby is even far worse as railway employees are not getting proper facilities. This matter needs to be looked into on priority basis.

Besides, I would like to request the hon. Minister to make a penal provision to prosecute those who litter at the railway stations. The hon. Minister has proposed to set up a railway university for technical and non-technical subjects. I request him that this university should be set up in Delhi only. In order to check accidents, there should be wire fencing on Brijwasan-Shahabad line. There is also need to construct a foot over bridge each in Okhla Phase-I and Phase-II industrial area.

SHRI P.V. MIDHUN REDDY: Great injustice has been done to our state

Andhra Pradesh over the past few years. Whatever had been promised in the

Reorganization Act none of these have been mentioned in the recent Rail Budget speech. There are 29 ongoing projects in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana and a

Committee has been constituted to oversee these projects, but there is no sanctity of this Committee without a proper time frame and budget allocations in the

Railway Budget. Besides, sufficient funds have not been allowed for important ongoing projects like Cuddapah- line, Nandyal-Yerraguntla line,

Venkatachalam-Obulavarpalli line, Nadikudi-Kalahasthi line, -Pitapuram line. We had made a demand of setting up a loco shed in Nandalur of Rajampet constituency but it has not been considered in the budget. There is nothing specific mentioned in the Railway Budget about the temple town of which is visited by a lot of pilgrims every day.

DR. ANBUMANI RAMADOSS: In this Railway Budget, the Railway

Minister has focused on bullet trains including many other things. But we have to be cautious in the case of bullet trains as in China some lines are incurring huge losses. The Minister has forgotten to protect the interests of Tamil Nadu as no new project has been announced in this Railway Budget. There have been a couple of long pending projects in Tamil Nadu. One of the main projects is the doubling of

Chennia-Kanyakumari line. We should expedite this project and give more funds for that. Then there is Dindivanam-Nagri project on which work needs to be expedited. The Chennai-Pondicherry line and the Chennai-Egmore line have also been ignored. There is need to look into the Morapur-Dharmapuri linkage, for which there was a train connectivity during the British period but later on removed.

The hon. Minister must look into the fact that district headquarters town of

Krishnagiri has no railway linkage or connectivity.

SHRI RAJAN VICHARE: The hon. Minister has given importance to several matters in his Railway Budget besides the passenger safety and sanitation.

The provision in the Railway Budget for the local people of Mumbai-Thane is below our expectations. Thane railway station occupies a very important place in the history of Indian Railways. The first train in India plied between Mumbai CST to Thane. About 7 lakh passengers use Thane station daily. Therefore, the

Ministry of Railways should provide special fund for this station. All 76 local railway stations of Mumbai should be provided more funds. The local trains should have 12 coaches instead of 9 coaches to accommodate more passengers.

The proposal constructing a new railway station between Thane and Muland has been pending for last ten years. Escalators and lifts should be provided at all the stations for the convenience of passengers. There is resentment among the train passengers on the issue of sanitation. There are two rail lines from Thane to

Mumbai presently. Two more rail lines are needed there. The railway provides funds for passenger amenities and development of local stations in Mumbai. A large number of passengers travel in local trains in Mumbai and it provides maximum revenue to the railways. Therefore, they should be provided more amenities.

SHRI SUSHIL KUMAR SINGH: A sum of Rs.10 crore has been provided for the rail project from Bihta to Aurangabad via A.N. Road. This fund is not sufficient as it would be used for paying the compensation for acquiring land only.

Therefore, this amount should be increased. In future this line should be merged from Aurangabad to Hazaribagh via Dev, Dungaria, Imamganj, then the people of both states Bihar and would be benefited thereby. There are four RoBs in my Parliamentary Constituency. The A. N. Road is major station of my district.

There is no rake point due to which commercial activities do not take place. Gaya is a place of international importance so Gaya station should be beautified. There is no exclusive train from Gaya to Mumbai whereas thousands of people commute from Gaya to Mumbai. Therefore, an exclusive train should be introduced for

Mumbai. Railway earns maximum revenue from loading of coal and other items from in ECR. There is no exclusive train to Delhi from there. If there is a separate train from Dhanbad to Delhi, the people of Gaya, Aurangabad, Sasarm aur Bhabhua would be benefitted. Dehri-On-Sone is a major station. A railway line should be extended to Robatsganj, Uttar Pradesh via Tilothu, Rohtas, Nauhtta from there. I would like to give a suggestion to increase the revenue of Railways by utilizing the railway land lying vacant in major cities of the country for commercial purposes. The railway would earn revenue of lakhs of rupees and the projects lying pending would be completed thereby. There is a intercity express from Bhabhua to Patna passing through 5-6 districts. This train should be run at such time so that it could reach at Patna at 10 O’clock via Bhabhua, Sasaram,

Dehri, Aurangabad and Gaya and it should depart from there at 4 O’clock to reach

Bhabhua at 9 O’clock.

* SHRI B. SRIRAMULU :

SHRI N.K. PREMACHANDRAN: The crux of the speech of the hon.

Railway Minister Indian Railways is going to be privatized by Indian Railways.

First one is through FDI, second one is through Private Public Participation (PPP) and third one is through outsourcing. In the global scenario, railway connectivity wise, Indian Railways are having the 4th place in the world. Privatizing such a big

* Please see Supplement and prestigious organization of our nation cannot be even thought of. It is the bounden duty of the Indian Railways to dedicate this social service organization to fulfill the social obligations. If FDI, PPP or it it is being outsourced, what would be the fate of the poor passengers? 23 million people who are using Indian

Railways, 90 per cent of the people are the common man. So my point is, please review the policy of the Indian Railways in respect of FDI and PPP. Do not privatize this big organization. My next point is regarding the priority to be fixed.

We are not against the bullet train and high speed rail corridor. The first suggestion is to rehabilitate and strengthen the existing Railways infrastructure and then go in for new projects. The second suggestion is to augment the existing capacity by means of doubling the lines. The third to enhance the market share of the Indian Railways in respect of freight traffic. In this Budget, there is a total neglect of my state Kerala. The Kollam Railway station is the first railway station in the Travancore. So far it is not modernized. I request to declare Kollam

Railway station as the model railway station with a new terminal. Shri

Dharmasthala Temple at is just 50 km away. Thousands and thousands of devotees are coming to that place. Punalur Railway station be declared as a destination to the Sabarimala pilgrims centre and other amenities may also be provided to them and three temples Achankovil Sri Dharmasastha Temple,

Aryankavu Sri Dharmasastha Temple and Kulathupuzha Sri Dharmasastha Temple are connected with Sabarimala. These all are very near to the Punalur Railway

Station. SHRI ABHISHEK SINGH: The formation of Chhatisgarh state took place on 1st November, 2000. This small state supplies 20 per cent steel, 30 per cent

Aluminum, 60 per cent coal and 17 per cent iron ore to the entire country. The

South-eastern Railway Zone houses its headquarters at Bilaspur. This railway zone is the highest profitable zone in the country. Despite this, there are 11 districts out of 27 where is no railway facility exists. Only 19 km of railway line has been constructed in the state since its inception. Chhattisgarh could be divided in three parts from the railway point of view- South, Central and North. South part is affected by naxalism. A railway project was sanctioned for survey in 1995-1996 from Dallirajhra to Raoghat and from Raoghat to Jagdalpur in two phases. I request to expedite the work on the second phase from Raoghat to Jagdalpur. In the Central part, the survey work on a 230 km long rail line from Dongargarh to

Khairagarh, Khairagarh to Kavardha, Kavardha to Pandariya, Pandariya to

Mungeli and to Bilaspur has been completed. With the completion of this rail line, the burden of on rail line from Dongargarh to Bilaspur via Bhilai would reduce and thus railway facility would get extended to two new districts. I demand a high speed train for working daily passengers of Rajnandgaon district for Raipur from 7:15 A.M to 10:15 A.M. Besides, Dongargarh should develop as a terminal so that it could serve as a mega tourist destination in future. In the Northern part, the survey work on 312 km long rail line from Korba to Lohardaga has been completed. Raigarh is a very important industrial centre of the state. Therefore, it should be developed as a terminal. In the Central part, the Inter City Express which used to ply from Korba to Raipur should be reintroduced. There are several trains which passes through Rajnandgaon and people of this area has been requesting for stoppage of these trains. The trains are Hatiya Lokmanya Tilak

Terminal, Gyaneshwari Express from Mumbai to Howrah, train No. 22893/22894 from Howrah to Shirdi, train No. 17005/17006 from Darbhanga to and to Raxul, express train from Puri to Surat and express train from Puri to

Gandhidham. Chhattisgarh is a naxal infested state. Naxalism is spreading its tenterhooks not only in Chhattisgarh but also in the entire country. I request to connect the each naxal affected district with the rail network.

* SHRI ANTO ANTONY:

SHRI KESINENI SRINIVAS: I welcome the various steps taken by the

Railway Minister to improve the passenger amenities at railway stations and on trains such as providing good sanitation, setting up of escalators, elevators and

FOBs, creating of WiFi zones, work stations in long distance trains, hygienic food, etc. I am also happy to note that the Indian Railways carry more than a billion tonnes of freight every year and would soon be the largest freight carrier in the world. Boarding a bullet train had been a dream for many in our country and we are happy that it would soon be fulfilled with the introduction of a bullet train between Mumbai and Ahmedabad. Under the leadership of the Prime Minister,

“The Diamond Quadrilateral” connecting all the metro cities will enhance the connectivity across the country. I thank him for announcing a new daily train, AP

* Please see Supplement

Express connecting my constituency, Vijayawada, with the National Capital, New

Delhi and also for Vizak-Chennai weekly Express Train and other weekly trains.

We also welcome the proposal to set up a new co-ordination committee to monitor various ongoing projects in my State. We were demanding that a new railway zone needs to be set up with Divisions of Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam, Guntur and

Guntakal. But we are a bit disappointed that it did not happen so. Andhra Pradesh, has the second largest coastline in the country with a lot of new ports under development. We request the hon. Minister to enhance rail connectivity to these ports. The State of Andhra Pradesh today requires a lot of new infrastructure to be created in the form of new railway lines, doubling of existing lines, upgradation of facilities at railway stations, developing new satellite stations in cities like

Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam, Guntur and Tirupati. The people of Vijayawada have been demanding development of satellite railway stations at places like Gunadala,

Ramavarappadu, Rayanapadu and Singhnagar. Vijayawada needs better connectivity with major cities across the country and new trains to Mumbai,

Ahmedabad, Bhubaneshwar, Kolkata, Bangalore, Mysore, Coimbatore, Cochin and Thiruvananthapuram etc. Connectivity of Rayalseema region with other parts of the State is also very essential.

* SHRI DEVENDRA SINGH ALIAS BHOLE SINGH :

* SHRI SANJAY HARIBHAU JADHAV :

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SHRI SUNIL KUMAR SINGH: In this Railway Budget reflects the hon.

Prime Minister’s dream of ‘Ek Bharat, Shreshtra Bharat’. This dream would be realised through a balanced and practical budget which is free from any prejudice, with an all India outlook and takes on the global challenges. The Opposition has criticised the Railway Budget. My suggestion to them is to glance through the newspapers to see the reaction of the country, what the youth and the society thinks. It gives a clear indication that we have embarked on a long journey to make India an advanced country and to accept the global challenges before us.

This time by announcing more than Rs.20,000 crore for low-cost services, the railway has discharged its social responsibilities. Budget emphasises improvement on safety and security and has for the first time shown determination to complete the ongoing projects. Is FDI not necessary for creation of infrastructure needed for the growth of the country? In my constituency, Barbati railway junction lies at the end of the railway line. This project was conceived before Independence and is still pending.

* SHRI MOHANBHAI KALYANJIBHAI KUNDARIYA :

SHRI NANDI YELLAIAH: It is my duty to raise the problems of the people of my constituency. Jadchalla-Nandiala is a new railway line for which

Rs.560 crores were sanctioned. Later, the Railway authorities said that it was not commercially viable. However, there are 42 major industries. This is situated in

Mehboobnagar district, Telangana. Most of the Districts are backward.

* Please see Supplement

Secunderabad and Mehboobnagar are very important single railway line. A large number of students go to Mehboobnagar from Secunderabad for their studies along with business men and other people. I request that this line be doubled. Gadwal to

Marcherala is a backward area. The estimated cost is Rs.920 crore. This is my constituency. I request Vanvarthi-Nagar-Karnool-Kallokurti and other assembly segments be covered. Fire accidents take place. Several people lost their lives due to short circuit in Warangal and Madras. Trains should leave station only after they are checked by the Railway experts and engineers. I want to ask the hon.

Railway Minister whether the Bullet train has been announced to make the hon.

PM happy. You are aware that Rs.60,000 crore would be needed for this. Is it justified? You should complete the pending projects. It would be an achievement if the present trains are run with safety.

* SHRI LADU KISHORE SWAIN :

* SHRI NANABHAU FALGUNRAO PATOLE :

SHRI C.R. CHAUDHARY: I would like to thank the hon. Prime Minister and express my gratitude for such a good railway budget prepared under his leadership and guidance. It is a very good budget for the passengers, pilgrims, businessmen and employees. Full attention has been paid to the passenger facilities. The hon. Prime Minister is a visionary person. He has proposed Bullet train and high speed corridors. I thank the hon. Minister of Railways for paying attention to safety, security, cleanliness and hygiene. The missing links of 30-50

* Please see Supplement km lines should be connected to shorten the distance. Tejaji is revered as folk deity in two-three states. The name of his mount was Lilan. It would be better to name an intercity train after the mount. Jodhpur-Delhi mail is the backbone of entire western Rajasthan. This train and the Samprak Kranti should be run daily.

SHRI GODAM NAGESH: At present Telangana State has 1669 km rail network and work is on for five new lines, for which Rs.3468 crores is needed. In

2013-14 out of Rs.3400 crores only Rs.680 crore were spent. In this Budget only

Rs.88 crore have been provided. I request the hon. Minister that for expeditious completion of the ongoing projects in our state we need more funds. Hyderabad and Secunderabad city are fast expanding. Rs. 1213 crore MMTS proposal was sanctioned in 2012-13 for there. However, only Rs.20 crore have been provided for this in the Budget. I request the hon. Minister that in view of the high population density in our capital, kindly complete the said project as early as possible. Pedapalli-Karimnagar-Nizamabad line was started in 1993 which remains incomplete even now. Aarmur-Adilabad rail line was surveyed in 2012-

13. However, in this Budget this has not been mentioned. Aarmur, Nirmal and

Adilabad are tribal regions in my constituency. Survey should also be completed for these places and e necessary sanction accorded. There is the Basar region we all know that there is a temple of Goddess Saraswati in South. People from all over the country go there. A station should be provided there also and survey should be conducted for a new rail line from Basar to Manchriyal and Jabalpur. A RoB is needed in my constituency, Adilabad. Efforts should be made to strengthen the Adilabad-Nagpur line.

* DR. KIRIT PREMJIBHAI SOLANKI :

* SADHVI SAVITRI BAI PHULE :

SHRI BHARAT SINGH: For the first time the budget covers the entire country. Till now the former Ministers of Railways used to look after only their constituencies. The eastern region of the country has always remained neglected in all matters. For the first time the entire eastern region has great expectations from the hon. Prime Minister. In this regard, I would like to request the hon. Minister of

Railways that the train announced by him from Ballia to Lucknow via Chhapra,

Ballia-Ghazipur-Banaras does not fulfill the expectations of the people. Our desire was that a train be run from Chhapra to Ballia via Banaras upto Delhi. At present it takes 20 hours to reach Ballia. Can you extend the Shivganga Express which goes to Banaras upto Ballia? There is Suremanpur Railay Station in Ballia and where an over bridge has been pending for years. A senior railway officer gave in writing that the over bridge has been constructed. However, it remains only on paper. Stern action should be taken against the person responsible. There should be a direct train linking Ballia to major cities such as Mumbai, Kolkata,

Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, and Chennai. Pawan Express and Sarnath Express should have stoppages at Bakulaha, Karimuddinpur, Tajpur and Rewati stations.

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SHRI JITENDRA CHAUDHURY: I would have been happy if I could have supported the Budget. Some glittering announcements have been made in the

Budget. A few days back one project in Kashmir was dedicated to the nation.

Why is it after 65 or 66 years of Independence? Why was it not done before? Rail should be treated as one of the strongest tools for integration. Unless the nook and corner of our country is connected with the rail how can we integrate this country?

Out of the eight states of the North-Eastern region till today only two state capitals have been connected. It has been declared that another two state capitals would be connected. Why not the other state capitals like Aizawl, Imphal, Itanagar,

Kohima? Unless this is done how the people of the North-Eastern region can be connected with the rest of the country? Despite the glittering announcements that were made, unless the safety standards of the Railways are improved, how can we claim that Indian Railways is world class? Unless more than three lakh vacancies are filled up, how can the safety standards be improved? There is no declaration on this in the Budget.

SHRI LALLU SINGH: Perhaps, this is the first Railway Budget of this country in which overall welfare of the country has been given top priority by rising above political partisanship. I would like to thank the hon. Railway Minister for starting a train from Rameshwaram to Haridwar and Ayodhya. Along with it, I would like a train be started between Faizabad and Chittrakoot because both

Chittrakoot and Faizabad have their own importance from the point of view of history and religion. The train running twice a week between Faizbad and Mumbai be run five days a week covering Sultanpur, Pratapgarh and Allahabad. The pending work of panel at the Faizabad railway be completed. The condition of

Ayodhya and Faizabad railway stations is very pathetic from the sanitation point of view. It needs to be improved. A new washing line be developed at Faizabad. A station should be constructed at Ramghat halt line.

SHRI BALBHADRA MAJHI: I hail from Nabarangpur Constituency which is the poorest constituency in India. There is no railway line in my constituency. There is a need to build a railway line to provide a rail link to this area. New rail lines from Jaipur to Malkangiri and Jaipur to Nabarangpur need to be sanctioned. Kirandul, Kottavala railway line constructed in 1961 and passing through my parliamentary constituency by just touching the third district Koraput is almost 50 years old which gives a revenue of Rs.5 crore to the railways every day. However, the sorry part is this that there is no facility on any station on this line. The Samleshwari Express and Durg Express should be given stoppage at

Kotpar.

* SMT. SANDHYA ROY:

* SHRI SUDIP BANDYOPADHYAY :

SHRI KAMAL BHAN SINGH MARABI: I hail from the Sarguja parliamentary constituency in Chhattisgarh state. Barvadih railway line connecting

Jharkhand and Bihar should be extended so that our tribal region could be developed. A new memu train between Ambikapur and Anuppur should be started

* Please see Supplement and there is a need for doubling the said railway line for achieving this purpose.

The said train runs twice a week at present. It should be run every day. The train running between Ambikapur and Jabalpur should be given a stoppage at Surajpur city.

* ADV. NARENDRA KESHAV SAWAIKAR :

SHRI BHAGWANT MANN: If 20 km long track between Rajpura nd

Saneta is laid down then the entire Malwa region will connect to Chandigarh directly which will result in a lot of convenience to the passengers besides saving on their cost of travel. There are three thermal plants on Rajpura-Bhatinda track on which several trains carry coal. It being a single track, passenger trains have to be halted. Therefore, this track should be converted into a double track. Sachkhand

Express running from Nander Takhat in Amritsar to Shri Huzur Sahib has a waiting list of 2-3 months. It would be worthwhile if an additional train is run between these destinations.

SHRIMTI JAYSHREEBEN PATEL: This is for the first time that a

Railway Budget focuses on the all round development of India. Similarly, it has happened for the first time in any Railway Budget that an announcement of making

Indian Railways passengers-friendly has been made. The railways should install solar panels on railway stations to augment power supply and develop water harvesting systems on them in order to improve pathetic financial condition and ensure supply of water. Secondly, the Ministry of Railways should mobilize funds

* Please see Supplement by selling its scraps. Thirdly, the proposal of mixing 5 per cent bio-fuel with the diesel is also a commendable step. I would demand that an initial capital of at least

Rs.50 crore should be provided for undertaking the gauge conversion work of

Mehsana-Taranga railway line. Ahemdabad-Ranuj railwaly line should also be converted into a broad gauge line. Gujarati Ashram Express should be given a stoppage at the Unjha, the biggest spice market of Asia, and Mehsana railway stations.

* SHRI BRIJBHUSHAN SHARAN SINGH :

* SMT. APARUPA PODDAR :

SHRI C.L. RUALA: The hon. Railway Minister has not mentioned the names of eleven Central projects in the North-East, yet I hope that the only railways project in my constituency Mizoram, that is from Bairabi to Sairang will be included in those projects. I would like to request the hon. Railway Minister that more funds are allocated to this project so that this section could soon be commissioned. It is suggested that gauge conversion work of branch line be completed before taking up mega block with gauge conversion work of Lumdin-

Badarpur-Silchar section.

*SHRI KODIKUNNIL SURESH :

* SHRI SUBHASH BAHERIA :

* SHRI A.T. NANA PATIL :

* SMT. POONAMBEN HEMATBHAI MAADAM :

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SHRI VIRENDER KASHYAP: While on one hand an effort has been made in this Budget to consolidate the existing railway projects to complete them in an efficient manner, on the other hand stress has been laid on the passenger amenities. Only 44 km of railway line has been added in Himachal Pradesh after independence which is almost negligible. The Ministry of Railways should pay attention towards this. A comprehensive scheme for the development of railway network needs to be formulated in respect of this hilly state so that its development could be ensured and tourism could be promoted in it. The Government has tried to introduce PPP and FDI modes for resource mobilization which is a commendable step. Budgetary provision should be made for Dhanauti-Dehradun via Nalagarh-Baddi line. A railway line between Chandigarh and Baddi should be laid.

** ** ** **

P. SREEDHARAN, Secretary-General.

**Supplement covering rest of the proceedings is being issued separately. © 2014 BY LOK SABHA SECRETARIAT NOTE: It is the verbatim Debates of the Lok Sabha and not the Synopsis that should be considered authoritative.

English and Hindi versions of Synopsis of Debates are also available at http://loksabha.nic.in.