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

Wednesday, March 15, 2017/ Phalguna 24, 1938 (Saka) ______

OBITUARY REFERENCE

HON'BLE SPEAKER: Hon'ble Members, I have to inform the House of the sad demise of Shri B.V.N. Reddy who was a member of the 11th to 13th Lok

Sabhas representing the Nandyal Parliamentary Constituency of Andhra Pradesh.

He was a member of the Committee on Finance; Committee on External Affairs;

Committee on Transport and Tourism; Committee on Energy and the Committee on Provision of Computers to members of Parliament. At the time of his demise,

Shri Reddy was a sitting member of the Andhra Pradesh legislative Assembly. He was earlier also a member of the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly during

1992 to 1996.

Shri B.V.N. Reddy passed away on 12 March, 2017 in Nandyal, Andhra

Pradesh at the age of 53.

We deeply mourn the loss of Shri B.V.N. Reddy and I am sure the House would join me in conveying our condolences to the bereaved family.

The Members then stood in silence for a short while. STATEMENT BY MINISTER

Re: Recent incidents of Attack on Members of Indian Diaspora in the

United States.

THE MINISTER OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS (SHRIMATI SUSHMA

SWARAJ): I rise to make a statement to brief this august House on the recent incidents of attack on Indian and members of Indian Diaspora in the United States.

In last three weeks, three incidents of physical attack in the United States on

Indian nationals and Persons of Indian Origin have come to the notice of the

Government.

On February 22, Srinivas Kuchibhotla, a 32 year old Indian engineer at GPS devise maker in Garmin was shot dead by a US national, Adam Purinton in a crowded bar in Kansas City Suburb of Olathe. Another Indian national, Alok

Madasani, present on the spot was also injured in the shooting. Ian Grillot an

American national, who tried to stop the shooting, was also shot and injured during the incident. Both the injured persons have received treatment and have since been discharged. The accused, Adam Pruinton, has been arrested by the police and the

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has taken over the case and is investigating the same as a case of 'hate crime'.

On March 2, Harnish Patel, a US national of Indian origin, was shot dead by unknown individuals in Lancaster, South Carolina. According to the Sheriff and the family, the incident was, in all likelihood, a case of robbery gone wrong.

Investigations are underway to identify the culprits and to ascertain if this was a racially motivated crime.

On March 4, Deep Rai, a US National of Indian Origin, was shot by an unknown person in Kent, near Seattle in Washington State, allegedly after being asked to leave the country. We understand that Mr. Rai is safe and out of danger.

The culprit is yet to be arrested. The Kent Police Department is taking the lead in the investigation of the case, assisted by the FBI. The investigating agencies are yet to establish that it is a 'hate crime'. Shri Deep Rai has received treatment and has been discharged from the hospital.

In all three cases, the Government, through its Embassy and Consulates, immediately reached out to the affected persons and their families for extending all possible help and support. I have personally spoken to the families of Srinivas

Kuchibhotla and Deep Rai.

The Government has taken up this issue with the US Government at very high-levels and conveyed our deep concerns. We have called for necessary measures to ensure the safety and security of Indian Diaspora and expeditious investigation into these incidents. Foreign Secretary discussed this matter in his meetings with Cabinet Ministers and senior functionaries of the US Administration as well as with the Congressional leadership during his recent visit to the US (February 28 - March 3, 2017). The US authorities have responded strongly and assured us that they are working with all concerned agencies to ensure speedy justice.

There has been widespread condemnation of these incidents by the U.S. leadership, both in the Administration and the Congress:

President Donald Trump referred to the Kansas shooting in his address to a joint session of Congress on February 28 and said that the US "stands united in condemning hate and evil in all its forms".

After his meeting with Foreign Secretary, Speaker of the House of

Representatives Paul Ryan issued a statement expressing the House's condolences on the killing of Srinivas Kuchibotla. The House also observed a moment of silence over the incident.

Governor of Kansas Sam Brownback has offered his condolences and assured thorough investigation. In a letter to Prime Minister, Governor Brownback has praised the "ingenuity, hard work and determination" of the Indian Diaspora as well as their contributions to the state of Kansas. He has assured that Kansas will remain " a welcoming, hospitable place" for Indians.

Several Senators and Congressmen have also expressed their condolences and regret over the tragic incidents. They have been deeply appreciative of the contribution and role of the Indian community in the U.S. Most recently, on March 9, US Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly issued a statement strongly condemning the incidents. In his statement, he said - "I strongly condemn any violent acts to perpetuate fear and intimidation not only against individuals, but entire communities. I pledge the full support of the

Department of Homeland Security to assist local, state, and federal investigations into these incidents." Secretary Kelly further said - "the United States has a history of welcoming and accepting individuals regardless of religion, race, ethnicity, or national origin." He committed that his Department will work closely with foreign governments whose nationals have been affected by these violent acts.

People-to-people contacts are the foundation on which the -U.S. strategic partnership has been built. The fact that broad sections of the American society have expressed their deep sorrow and regret over these incidents reassures us that despite these individual incidents, the American society values the people- to-people engagement between our two countries.

In the discussion on March 9, Shri Bhartruhari Mahtab and Shri Mohammad

Salim referred to a 'travel advisory' issued by the US Government which apparently advises the US nationals against travelling to India. I would like to inform the Hon'ble Members that there is no Travel Advisory in force for India at present. A reference to India has been included in their "Worldwide Caution" report which the US State Department releases every six months (in March and September every year). These are in the form of broad assessment of threat perceptions. Such references to India have been include in previous reports as well and do not reflect the change of Administration in the US. In fact, India-specific references were far more detailed in previous reports. Having said that, issuing travel advisories is a well-established global practice and Government of India has also issued travel advisories in the past for Indian citizens visiting the U.S. in specific situations.

A related question was raised by the Hon'ble members whether the

Government plans to issue an advisory for Indians travelling to or residing in the

US. I would say that prompt and clear response of the U.S. political leadership and the law enforcement authorities to these incidents and the widespread messages of sympathy and support from all quarters in the U.S. give us confidence that these incidents are acts of individuals and do not represent the overwhelming sentiments of the American people towards India. This was demonstrated by the American national Ian Grillot who suffered serious injury while helping the two Indians. I have saluted his heroism and am sure the House joins me in wishing him speedy recovery.

Finally I would like to reassure this House and the Members that safety and security of Indian Diaspora abroad remains a top priority for this Government. We are in a continuous dialogue with the US Government. Close contacts with the local Indian community groups are being maintained through our Embassy and

Consulates to address any emergent issues. We will remain vigilant to developments impacting the lives of Indians abroad and do everything possible to safeguard their interests and welfare. I would also like to submit that the

Government never remains silent when any Indian is in difficulty abroad. This is not our style of functioning. The whole House and the country at large have been witnessed the fear that if even one Indian faces crisis abroad, we make every effort to ease his tribulation. I would like to submit that at the time of this incident, despite our hon. Prime Minister being engaged in canvassing, he continued to take stock of the plan of action of the MEA in this regard. I personally talked to the father of Srinivas and his elder brother K.K. Shastri at on the day this incident happened. I also made a call to his wife Sunaina at Kansas. The wife of

Srinivas has conveyed her thanks to the Counsel General through a letter for the assistance she received at the time of crisis. Similarly, the father of Deep Rai also thanked me. I would like to submit that it would be grossly incorrect to say that we did not raise this matter and we remained silent. Such an allegation has not been leveled even by those who themselves have faced such incidents. I would like to assure the House that the Government shall never remain silent on any such incident and would do more than what is expected from us. *MATTERS UNDER RULE 377

(i) SHRI RAM PRASAD SARMAH laid a statement regarding

construction of Lower Subansiri Hydro Electric Project in .

(ii) SHRI SHYAMA CHARAN GUPTA laid a statement regarding need

to develop a mechanism to evaluate the real value of property

mortgaged against a bank loan to reduce the increasing NPAs of

banks.

(iii) SHRI GANESH SINGH laid a statement regarding need to review

the eligibility norms under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana.

(iv) SHRI MANSHANKAR NINAMA laid a statement regarding need

to implement Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana in Banswara

Parliamentary Constituency, .

(v) SHRI SUSHIL KUMAR SINGH laid a statement regarding need to

establish an ESI Super-Speciality hospital in , .

(vi) SHRI GOPAL SHETTY laid a statement regarding need to

introduce digital voting system in the country.

(vii) DR. RAMESH POKHRIYAL 'NISHANK' laid a statement

regarding need to develop solar and wind energy projects in hill states.

* Laid on the Table as directed by the Speaker. (viii) COL. (RETD.) SONARAM CHOUDHARY laid a statement

regarding need to amend the guidelines of Pradhan Mantri Gram

Sadak Yojana to facilitate construction of roads in all habitations in

desert areas of Barmer Parliamentary Constituency, Rajasthan.

(ix) SHRI BABULAL CHOUDHARY laid a statement regarding need to

provide remunerative price of potato to farmers in the country.

(x) SHRIMATI RAKSHATAI KHADSE laid a statement regarding

need to review the man power in Ordnance Factories.

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

environmental clearance to drinking water project for Sirohi district,

Rajasthan.

(xii) SHRI NISHIKANT DUBEY laid a statement regarding developing

cultural tourism of Deoghar, .

(xiii) SHRI THUPSTAN CHHEWANG laid a statement regarding need

to restore telecommunication services in Ladakh region.

(xiv) SHRIMATI RANJEET RANJAN laid a statement regarding need to

undertake gauge conversion of Saharsa-Farbesganj railway section in

Bihar.

(xv) SHRI MULLAPPALLY RAMACHANDRAN laid a statement

regarding air pollution in . (xvi) SHRI K.N. RAMACHANDRAN laid a statement regarding

reopening of closed Nokia Plant in Sriperumbudur in .

(xvii) SHRI A. ARUNMOZHITHEVAN laid a statement regarding need

to provide compensation to those displaced on account of setting up of

Neyvelli Lignite Corporation Ltd.

(xviii) DR. MAMTAZ SANGHAMITA laid a statement regarding need to

re-start Air India flights to certain sectors from .

(xix) SHRI ARKA KESHARI DEO laid a statement regarding need to set

up a fertilizer depot in Kalahandi parliamentary constituency of

Odisha.

(xx) SHRI PRATAPRAO JADHAV laid a statement regarding need to

expedite laying of underground cable for broadband service in

Buldhana parliamentary constituency, .

(xxi) SHRI JAYADEV GALLA laid a statement regarding need to set up

a CGHS Wellness Centre at in Andhra Pradesh.

(xxii) SHRI B. VINOD KUMAR laid a statement regarding need to set up

a Mega Leather Park at Rukmapur in Karimnagar, .

(xxiii) SHRIMATI P.K. SHREEMATHI TEACHER laid a statement

regarding need to provide adequate funds for development of

Azhikkal Port in . (xxiv) SHRI RADHESHYAM BISWAS laid a statement regarding need to

rehabilitate people residing long international border with .

(xxv) SHRI JAI PRAKASH NARAYAN YADAV laid a statement

regarding need to start work on sanctioned railway projects under

Eastern Railway Zone in Bihar.

(xxvi) SHRI C.N. JAYADEVAN laid a statement regarding widening of

Pattalam Road in Thrissur town, Kerala.

SUBMISSION BY MEMBERS

Re: Need to conduct an inquiry into the suspected suicide of a Dalit

student of JNU.

THE MINISTER OF CHEMICALS AND FERTILIZERS AND

MINISTER OF PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (SHRI ANANTHKUMAR) responding to the issue raised by several hon. Members, said: The entire House shares the grief about the sad demise of a JNU student, Muthu Krishnan.

Immediately as soon as this tragic incident happened, the JNU authorities have rushed and tried to provide all the assistance to his parents. Now, the post-mortem is on in AIIMS and Delhi Police is investigating into the matter for the reasons of his death and a suitable action will be taken. UNION BUDGET - 2017-2018

DEMANDS FOR GRANTS - 2017-2018

Ministry of Railways - Contd.

SHRI RAMEN DEKA: My constituency falls in Darrang District and it is not yet connected with the railway. Though I raised this issue many times during

15th Lok Sabha, now also, I request hon. Minister of Railways to connect Darrang

District with the railways. Darrang District is the most underdeveloped district where much of the crop is being grown but it cannot be taken to the main market in

Guwahati. There is a demand to connect Darrang District from Changsari to

Siplajhar to Kharupetia to Borsala to Tezpur immediately. Rangia and Tezpur are very old stations. So, they should be declared as heritage stations. More rails should be introduced between Lumbding and Agartala. I demand stoppage of all

South-bound and Delhi-bound trains at District Headquarters of Nalbari. I would also like to request the hon. Minister to introduce a train from Rangia to Dekargaon connecting all stations with stoppage of all passenger trains so that people get connectivity to reach Tezpur. Further, I would like to request our hon. Minister to see to it that the connectivity of the Darrang District happens this time in reality.

DR. THOKCHOM MEINYA: Manipur has no proper train connectivity till now, and in the Corporation, a subsidiary of Indian

Railways is running the trains. Here they have three new lines on-going projects. Again, the Budget has miserably failed to throw any light on the time-bound completion of these projects. Projects delayed for whatever reason cause time overrun, cost escalation and heavy loss to the end consumers. The foundation stone of Jiribam-Tupul-Imphal Railway line was laid in 2005 by the then Prime

Minister. It is again rescheduled to be completed by 2019. Coming to the new projects sanctioned, I would very humbly state that a better planning for the timely completion of the projects still remain to be put in place. The some targets as fixed by the Ministry may be strictly adhered to. They are as follows: Imphal will be connected to the new line from Jiribam to Tupul by December 2017 and from

Tupul to Imphal by March 2019. Sairang near Aizwal will be connected by train to Bhairabi in 2018. Kohima will be connected to Dimapur in 2020. Shillong will be connected to Byrnihat in 2018. Gangtok will be connected to Rangpo by 2020.

SHRI DUSHYANT SINGH: This was the first time since 1924, that the

Railways Budget was merged with the Union Budget which would facilitate multi modal transport planning between railways, highways and inland waterways without compromising on the functional autonomy of the Railways. The

Government plans to commission Railway lines of 3,500 km 2017-18 and increase traffic volume by 10% over the next three years through the modernisation and upgradation of identified corridors. The safety of passengers has been an important concern and Rashtriya Rail Sanraksha Kosh is being created with a corpus of Rs. one lakh crore over a period of five years. Cleanliness has been an important and overarching goal of the Government. Coach mitra facility plans to be introduced which will be a single window interface to register all coach related complaints and requirement. There is a disturbing trend in which the share of internal resources has been declining. carries out various activities in national interest which are not fully directed by commercial principles due to its social service obligations.

I urge upon the Government to extend trains terminating at Kota to Jhalawar and start a new train from Jhalawar to connecting Jhalawar to Kota,

Swaimadhavpur and and also provide greater rail connectivity in Baran district. This year's rail budget is an effort in the right direction. It focuses on the four major areas of passenger safety, capital and development works, cleanliness and finance reforms. A forward looking, balanced and rational budget was the need of the hour and the Government has delivered the same.

SHRI P. R. SUNDARAM: I urge upon the Government to fulfill following listed pending railway demands in respect of my Parliamentary

Constituency: New road leading to Namakkal Railway Station through Thuraiyur

Road by the Western Side of the railway track; Extension of Salem-

Express Train No. 11063/11064 upto Karur via Namakkal and Salem-Karur passenger train No. 56105 upto Trichy; Facility for reservation of tickets with Salem division in express train operated between Nagercoil and

Bangalore; RUB at Rasipuram Railway station; New train between Erode and

Chennai Egmore via Karur, Namakkal, Salem, Attur, Viruthachalam, Tambaram during day hours; Reservation counters at Rasipuram and Mohanur Cycle/bike stand in Rasipuram railway station and bigger size LED TV in VIP longue of

Rasipuram and Namakkal railway station with DTH service accessing all television channels.

SHRI R. GOPALAKRISHNAN: I urge upon the Ministry of Railways to expedite the completion of all pending projects in Tamil Nadu in a time bound manner. There is a need to improve or to upgrade Koodalnagar railway station as a satellite railway terminal. There is also a need to provide a stoppage to all the trains passing by Koodalnagar, Thiruparankundram and Thirumangalam. The infrastructure/facilities in and around Railway Stations have to be stepped up. Doubling of Chennai-Kanyakumari must be given top priority. Chennai-

Kanyakumari via Madurai line, Madurai- and Coimbatore-Chennai lines must have high speed passenger rail link. Our persistent demand for

Chennai-Thoothukudi freight corridor is also pending with the railways. (i)

Chennai Tuticorin Frieght Corridor, (ii) High Speed passenger rail link-Chennai-

Madurai-Kanyakumari and (iii) High Speed passenger rail link-Madurai to

Coimbatore may be given top priority. I want to stress on the need to provide modern coaches to Pandian Express, the pride of entire Tamil Nadu. I would also like to stress upon the need to link

Madurai with Karaikudi via Melur. An additional train between Madurai and

Bangaluru may be introduced with a First AC coach. As part of further development in Madurai Junction a multi-tier four-wheeler parking slot may also be considered and executed.

The long pending project between Madurai-Bodinayakanur may be considered for implementation on war-footing. The Road-Over-Bridge on the bye- pass road in Madurai is to be strengthened.

SHRI B. SENGUTTUVAN: The Railway Budget 2017-18, though was not an innovative one, yet is a passenger-friendly one.

I list some of the most urgent demands of Vellore Parliamentary

Constituency. Since there is scope for improvement of goods and passenger traffic on the Vellore-Villupuram Line, the Vellore Cantonment Railway Station may be upgraded into a major Railway Station. The trains to Southern Districts of Tamil

Nadu may be operated from Vellore Cantonment Railway Station. Special trains for the benefit of pilgrims bound for the temple towns of Tiruvannamalai,

Chidambaram, Sirkazhi, Mayavaram, Kumbakonam and Tanjore commencing from , Andhra and Chennai may also be operated. Introduction of one more Express Electric Train to proceed to Chennai from Vellore would better serve the requirement of the population of Vellore.

Vellore Cantonment Railway Station has vast tracts of prime land which can be commercially exploited on PPP model. Construction of Overhead Bridges at

Vellore will ease the traffic. The Underpass between Vellore and Pennathur is badly damaged and this may be attended to immediately. There is an urgent need for face-lifting and Upgradation of Katpadi Railway Station.

Bangalore-Chennai Shadabadi Express, Semi-High Speed Bangalore-

Chennai Train and Cheran Express be given halt at Katpadi Railway Station. As more and more commuters are using , eight number of bogies may be increased or at least one more First Class coach may be introduced on this train. Bengaluru-Chennai (Lalbagh Express), Bengaluru-Chennai (),

Trivandram-Chennai Express, Kovai-Chennai (Intercity Express) may be halted at

Gudiyattam Station. Further, Kavai Express and Chennai-Bangalore Train may be halted at Vaniyamabadi. A Sub-Way or an Underpass or an Under-Bridge may be constructed there. The issues of clean drinking water, refreshment stall and proper lighting there may also be addressed early.

Vellore Cantonment, Katpadi, Gudiyattam, and stations may be provided high-speed free wi-fi internet facility as well as Mobile

Phone charging facility. SHRI OM BIRLA: Indian Railways has significant role in socio-economic development of the country. Rail transport system is cost effective in comparison to Road transport system. Railways is environment friendly and contributes in reducing pollution.

The process of decision making in the Government will be simplified and rationalised by merging Rail budget with General budget and remove differences between planned and non planned expenditure. In this budget, Railways has focused on four major areas namely, passengers safety, capital and development works, cleanliness and finance and Accounting Reforms. The Government has also given special emphasis on Railways to make it more competitive against other modes of transport.

The Railways is struggling to run its transport system and to generate revenues itself, so there is a need to focuss on it. The expenditure incurred on employees from 2005 to 2015 has increased at the rate of 13 percent annually.

Therefore, there is a need to reduce the expenditure by formulating appropriate action plan in this regard. Railways should adopt positive attitude towards the needs of passengers.

It has been announced that Kota will be developed as smart city and thus will be developed as smart railway station. Steps in this direction should be taken immediately after formulating appropriate action plan. The facilities for passengers and stoppage to various trains should be provided at the said station. There is an absolute need to develop Dakniya Railway Station as Satellite station.

The train number 05613-05164 running between Kota and Jhalawar should run on permanent basis. I request to run train between Kota and Nagla, train no. 19083 from Kota to Jammu Tavi and 19085 from Kota to Udhampur, train no.

12911, 12912 -Valsad and train no. 12975-12976 Jaipur-Mysore on daily basis for the convenience of the public. Provide stoppage to train no. 12903-12904

Golden Temple Mail, 12905-12906 Jaipur - at Dakniya Railway Station.

Jaipur - Chennai Express should run from Ramganj Mandi regularly.

Keshoraipatan of Bundi District is a religious place so, stoppage to

Janshatabdi, , and Dayodaya Express should be provided at Keshoraipatan. There is a need to construct underpass or overbridge at Modak between Kota and Rampur. Introduce a new train from Kota to via Jaipur and Humsafar train from Kota to . There is a need to construct overbridge and if not possible then construct foot overbridge or underpass at

Railway crossing 1x13 at Kota Railway Station. A new rail line should be laid alongwith gauge conversion of - Sheopur under Kota - Baran - Gwalior -

Sheopur project. Increase the number of AC and non-AC coaches of Kota - Jaipur

Passenger Train and there is a need for Ist class fully AC coach in Intercity

Express. SHRI P. KARUNAKARAN: Railway is a big public undertaking giving employment to lakhs of workers and employees but for the last 10 years the number of employees, workers have reduced from 17 lakhs to 13 lakhs. It is because of the privatization that the Government has followed. So , I strongly oppose the steps taken by the Government to go for the privatization. The allocation for the Railway in my State Kerala is reduced. Though, number of projects were announced earlier, many of them are not implemented. Further a large number of other stations are declared, no facilities are provided in most of the stations. Large number of ROBs are still not completed. In this connection, I like to point out some of the issues of the State and my constituency i.e. -

Panthoor-Kaniyoor Railway line project is an inter-state project, this project has to be taken in this Budget; As Cheruvathur -Shornur electrification is completed, the memu train can be extended to Shornur to ; extension of trains - Allepey

- executive (16307/8), Trivandrum - Kannur Janastabdi (12082/83), and

Ernakulam - Kannur Executive ( 16313/14) to Mangalore; stoppage for

Nethravathi Express, intercity express at my home station Nileshwar; stoppage for

Rajadhani Express at Kasargod; stoppage for at Chervathur; stoppage for Eranadu Express at Payangadi; stoppage for Egmore Express at

Trikaripur and I also suggest to include ROB No. 88 in the Railway Budget. SHRI RAJENDRA AGRAWAL: For the first time Demands for Grants pertaining to Railways are being discussed under General budget. Railway is the engine of development for economy of the country. Now efforts are being made for strengthening and expansion of basic infrastructure, enhancing passenger amenities, safety and cleanliness on railway stations. Capacity of Railways is being improved through better utilization of digital technology.

Doubling Khurja-Meerut rail stretch and laying of an additional corridor line on it should be completed at the earliest. 40 underpasses have been given approval for making Meerut-Khurja railway stretch crossing-free but their construction is being delayed inordinately. I request the hon. Minister of Railway to construct these underpasses as per prescribed standards and at the earliest to facilitate the local people.

Delhi-Meerut and Delhi-Hapur EMU service should be introduced at the earliest. A new train from Meerut to Vrindavan via Hapur, Bulandshahar, Khurja should be introduced. An overbridge should be constructed at Meerut Cantt station.

Nauchandi Express and Sangam Express should be given stoppage at Kharkhoda railway station. Garib Rath train No. 12203/12204, Kathgodam - Anand Vihar

Sampark Kranti Express train No 15035/15036 and -Patna Shramjivi

Express No. 12391/12392 should be given stoppage at Hapur railway station.

Ujjain - Express No 14317/14318, -Dehradun Express No. 14309/14310, Okha - Dehradun Express No. 19565/19566, Indore-

Express No. 19325/19326, Valsad - Haridwar Express No. 12911/12912,

Kochchivali - Dehradun Express No. 12287/12288 and Madurai-Dehradun Express

No. 12687/12688 should be given stoppage at Meerut Cantt railway station.

Railway halt should be provided at Tagasarai on Hapur-Khurja rail line. A link road should be constructed for Pavalikhas railway station on Meerut cantt -

Daurala rail stretch to facilitate local people.

SHRI A.T. NANA PATIL: I support the Demands for Grants pertaining to

Railways. I demand that Overbridges should be constructed at Kajgaon, Bhadgaon on level crossing Nos. 126, 148, 149 and at Shivajinagar. and

Mahanagari Express should be given stoppage at Chalisgaon railway station,

Vidrabha Express should be given stoppage at Pachora railway station and

Navjivan Express should be given stoppage at Dharangaon. A new train between

Bhusawal and Mumbai should be introduced as Pt. Deendayal Upadhyay Express.

Rajdhani Express, Mumbai/Delhi/Mumbai via , , Khandwa with stoppage at Chalisgaon and Jalgaon may be introduced. Train No. 49025/49026

Amrawati-, 09049/09050 Amrawati-Udhna Holiday should run on daily basis.

Chalisgaon and Jalgaon stations should be given status of stabling line and new trains starting from here may be introduced. Construction of new Dhule- Amalner broadgauge line may be approved. Necessary provisions may be made in the budget for starting construction of Chalisgaon to Aurangabad new railway line.

Sufficient passenger quota may be provided for ,

Amrawati Express, , Sachkhand Express and Mangala Express.

Construction of foot overbridge and provision of escalator at chalisgaon railway station, construction of railway underbridge near Chalisgaon railway station, construction of foot overbridges at Pacharo, Amalner and Dharangaon railway stations and construction of one foot overbridge, provision of one escalator and two lifts at Jalgaon railway station are required. Immediate steps should be taken to re-open railway crossing No. 130 at Mauje-Choubare in Taluka Amalner.

SHRI RODMAL NAGAR: I support the Demands for Grants, 2017-2018 on Railways. Today people are being greatly facilitated due to the arrangements of e- ticketing in railways through IRCTC. Indian Railways has taken the initiative for the use of solar energy. Indian Railways has also taken the initiative to transfer the benefits of rebate being provided to senior citizens directly to their accounts through AADHAR. SMS based " Clean my Coach" service has been started by

Indian Railways. I urge upon the Government to start the work on Ramganj-Mandi to Ujjain via Soyal, Susner and line for which survey work has been completed and doubling and electrification works on Maksi to Sarangpur, Byavara,

Beenganj, Ruthiai Railway line should be done. DR. KULMANI SAMAL: I would like to request the Minister to take initiative to expedite completion of Railway projects of with a view to start and complete new projects in time. Odisha bound trains or trains originating in

Odisha are being given late clearance compared to other state bound trains thereby making them late for hours. Hence, I request to address this problem.

Paradip super fast express train which is being terminated currenctly at Santragachi be extended upto Kolkata and the timing of departure of this express train be changed in order to facilitate the commuters of Paradip region to avail the service fully along with increase in frequency of both the super fast express trains (Paradip to Howrah and Paradip to Visakhapatnam) from one day in a week to daily. Paradip station should be upgraded with modern infrastructure at par with other port town railway stations of the country. The roads connecting

Cuttack-Paradip State Highway to different railway stations namely, from Kujang to Badabandh, from Rahama market to Rahama railway station, from

Raghunathpur and Tirtol to Raghunathpur Railway Station etc. be repaired and widened; an ROB along with a full-fledged platform should be constructed/opened at Jaipur (Gorakhnath) station. All the railway stations between Cuttack and

Paradip should be provided with basic infrastructure like parking place, rest shade, toilet, lighting etc.; construction of permanent road from Nimakana P.H. to

Balisahi along south part of the railway track should be started; Paradip- Vishakhapatnam super fast express should be extended to Chennai; Konark-

Bhubaneswar express should be extended upto Paradip; plantation programme should also be taken up at all the railway stations along the stretch of Cuttack-

Paradip rail route; new direct trains from Paradip to Mumbai, Delhi, Ahemedabad,

Bangalore etc. should be introduced. I urge upon the Minister of Railways to name the superfast train running between Puri and Paradip via Kanakpur in

Jagatsinghpur as Adikabi Sarala Das superfast Express train.

SHRI JITENDRA CHAUDHURY: This budget has hardly proposed any effective change in safety standard, nothing new initiative has been proposed to upgrade the existing tracks to enhance the speed and no proposal has been seen to improve the passenger amenities. Railway has to play the pivotal role in shaping economy. I urge the Union Government to connect the all residual un-connected

State Capital by 2020 and the ongoing Agartala to Sabroom Project may be extended up to Chittagong, to connect with the Chittagong sea port and Agartala to

Akhaura Project may be extended upto Kolkata via Dhaka. Two upto Agartala in every week and one daily Express Train from Agartala to Kolkata alongwith one weekly Express Train from Agartala to Chennai and Bengaluru are to be introduced. Open one Railway Division in and establish one Railway

Recruitment Board at Agartala. Improve the amenities of existing train plying within and from Tripura and construct Under Passes and Railway Bridges at all un- manned Railway Crossing in Tripura. A Railway Hospital in Tripura should be set up and establish an ITI in Tripura for imparting courses in Railway Engineering to fulfil the aspiration and demands of the people of Tripura.

SHRI RAMCHARAN BOHRA: The weekly train from Jaipur to Mumbai,

Bandra Express should be made regular. A direct train from Jaipur to Shirdi should be introduced. An AC III tier coach and one sleeper coach should be attached in passenger train which runs from Jodhpur to Barmer at night, Ashram Express train should have a stoppage at Gandhi Nagar Railway Station. Shuttle train service should be started between Jaipur to Sawai Madhopur and electrification and doubling work on this route should be completed immediately. Jaipur-Delhi

(Holiday), Jaipur-Hyderabad (Holiday), Jaipur-Indore and Jaipur-Madras (Train

No. 12968) trains should be made regular and run daily. Suburban stations of

Jaipur namely Sanganer, Dahar Ke Balaji and Neendar stations should be developed. Jaipur to Tirupati Express should be reintroduced. I urge upon to allocate adequate budget to complete railway projects related to Jaipur on time.

SHRI BHARTRUHARI MAHTAB: The railways must urgently concentrate on changing their business model and deal with complete rakes instead of individual wagons. Year 2017 will go down in history as the first year when the rail Budget is subsumed in the General Budget. A retrieval of the Railway's financial health is quite within reach, if due focus is laid on the core sectors of freight operations and enhanced productivity of assets. Will the Minister clarify whether the dividend received by the Indian Railways from its CPSUs is not part of the Capital-at-charge.

SHRIMATI P.K. SHREEMATHI TEACHER: Automatic signaling, enhancement of terminal capacity as well as removal of level crossing gates by

ROB or RUB is to be provided in Kerala. I exhort the honorable Minister to declare the entire Trivandrum Kannur section as suburban and make an action plan for terminal development to ease train operation bottlenecks. Starting of MEMU services between Mangalore and Calicut, Calicut and Trissur and establishment of railway line between Kannur and airport Valapatnam Azikkal port, Thalessery

Mysore line etc, are urgently needed. We need to have pit line maintenance facilities at Kannur and additional Pitlines at Mangalore area. Mangalore goodshed at Bunder be shifted to Ullal.

SHRI S.P. MUDDAHANUME GOWDA: city in Karnataka which is my parliamentary constituency, is now declared as smart city and also as an Industrial smart city. This requires creation of good infrastructure which includes creation of high-tech railway station, providing sub-urban railway facility creation of electric railway line and providing additional rail service etc. I also demand for speeding up of Tumkur – Rayadurga and Tumkur – Davangele projects. SHRI BIRENDRA KUMAR CHOUDHARY: Gauge conversion work should be conducted from to in my constituency. Moreover, there is a need of ROB at South NH 105 in Jayanagar railway station. Jayanagar railway station may be declared as International railway station.

SHRI DEVENDRA SINGH BHOLE: Railway system is the reflection of the entire country. While on one hand it reflects the zeal and fervour of our developing country, it is also a reflection of the woes and aspirations of the crores of Indian. The journey that railway undertook under the leadership of Suresh

Prabhu ji has progressed on all fronts such as speed, cleanliness, work efficiency and mobilising resources. The Minister of Railways, Shri Suresh Prabhu has found a way to generate funds for the projects, namely, the institutional funding to the tune of 1.5 lakh crore agreed to be invested by life Insurance Corporation of India in 5 years favourable conditions which is encouraging. Besides, the Ministry has expressed its will to set up a fund with the help of multiple parties to finance the projects. Railways under the leadership of Suresh Prabhu has been successful in laying 7 kilometers of tracks in comparison to the average 4.3 kilometers each day during the last 6 years. Railways is making efforts to increase this to 13 kilometers per day in year 2017-18 and 19 kilometers per day in 2018-19. This would lead to creation of around 9 crore man days in 2017-18 and 14 crore man days in 2018-19.

I would like to particularly thank the Hon. Minister of Railways for the announcements made for district and rural areas under my Parliamentary constituency. These include approval of 97 unmanned and Power generated land crossings, construction of overbridge on 79D on G.T. Road, construction of level crossing in Bhimsen, Construction of overbridge in Kanpur-Jhakahkati, modernisation of signals, train security and warning system, change in loco-B mechanical gears, setting up of 33 KVA sub-station in Juhi, new passenger in train engine yard, denigration of rail engine capacity, construction of memo car shed, change of pipeline setting up of tanks and deep tube wells setting up of 'Dhulni

Apron' for washing of cars and repair work and upgradation of old residences of railway employees officers and construction of community halls by Railways in

Kanpur and most importantly approval of construction of bridge for plying of trains from Madhna to Anwarganj at a cost of 1789 crores. Shram Shakti Express should be run from Kanpur-Delhi-Kanpur as done in past. Sangam Express

14163/14164 that runs from to Dehradun via Meerut should be given stoppage at Panki Station in Kanpur. There is a need to construct an underpass and widening of over bridge at Panki station in view of the increasing number of passengers. The old railway station in Kanpur should be run again. A new railway line should be laid down on Bindki road station via Oraiya, Sikandra, Bhojnipur,

Musangar, Ghatampur, Jahanabad. Shambhua station of Ghatampur area may be started again. Ticket distribution facility may be started in block hut FF Repalpur on Kanpur to Itawa rail route and halt of train no. 64587/64588 may be provided.

Ghatampur railway station at Kanpur district may be declared model station. Rail overbridge may be constructed at Bhimsen station. A passenger train may be started from Kanpur to . Reewa Express may be operated via Kanpur

Banda-Karbi (Chitrakut) Manikpur to Reewa. Kanpur Jhansi Inter-city Express needed to be operated in the morning and evening for Jhansi and likewise may be operated from Jhansi to Kanpur twice a day in morning and evening time. Rack point may be made in the Kanpur Dehat district. Rail halt may be ensured at Patra railway station for passenger trains. Railway line from Kalyanpur-Bithur via

Mandhna should be electrified. Train number 12003 Swarn Shatabdi should be given stoppage at platform no. 1 as done in the past.

DR RATAN DE (NAG): This is the first combined Budget of

Independent India which includes railways. Government has announced creation of

Rs. 1 lakh crore 'Rashtriya Rail Sanraksha Kosh' in 5 years. The Government has failed miserably about providing 5 crore jobs every year and delivered nothing.

The other focus is on Swachh Rail. The NDA Government could make no dent on neither safety or cleanliness both in trains and in stations. For 2017-18, the total budget has been put at Rs. 1.31 lakh crore, out of which Rs. 55,000 crore has been provided by the government. Ministry of Railways to replace old tracks, decades old coaches, ensure state of the art signaling system by bringing in updated and latest technology. Government should think of adding new tracks, new and ultra modern coaches with disc brakes, and coaches. It should be the prime priority of the Railways instead of Bullet train. Railways and ARCTC should not charge service charges on E- ticketing. Digital transactions should be implemented in a phased manner instead of rushing through when more than 60 per cent are oblivious of the basic of digital transactions. With Rs. 2,100 crore efforts should be made to ensure that passenger amenities are improved to a decent level with basic services like safety drinking water, toilet facilities in all railway stations, rest rooms for women giving emphasis on cleanliness, ensuring lifts and escalators for elderly and differently-abled persons. I would like to state that instead of redevelopment of just 25 stations into world-class structures during 2017-18, and only 500 stations friendlier for the differently-abled through lifts and escalators,

Railways and Government should aim for more and more stations with basic amenities and all the stations, at least major stations should be provided with lifts and escalators for differently-abled persons. I would like to urge to provide level crossing connecting Pundooah Station Road (North) and Pundooah Station Road

(East) in Eastern Railway Division; Construction of subway at

Kuntighat and Khamargachi at Balagarh Block, West Bengal Eastern Railway

Howrah Division; Bandal-Katasa section is the longest sub-urban section (105 kms) of Eastern Railway Howrah Division where only 17 pairs of EMU locals and 2 pairs of passengers trains are plying; these should be increased; complete the work of Bars Baric Belt station as early as possible and give the relief to the people; complete the project already sanctioned by the Railway Ministry and requisite allocating for the projects must be made by the Ministry and complete the dedicated freight corridor project from Howrah to Amritsar.

SHRI SANJAY DHOTRE : I am thankful to the Hon. Prime Minister

Modiji for breaking away from the 92 year old tradition and merging Railway

Budget with the General Budget. Minister of Finance has presented a balanced

Budget. A number of Members have expressed their concerns over demonetisation and its adverse effects on GDP growth rate but it has proved baseless. This time

Government has approved only those rail projects which could be completed on time. Minister of Finance has set the target of eliminating all unmanned railway crossings on major railway lines by 2020. It would have far reaching effects.

Many important announcements such as creating National Security Fund with an amount of rupees one lakh crore, 500 divyang friendly stations, running trains dedicated to pilgrims and tourists, starting 3500 kilometer railway lines, increasing frequency of unreserved trains such as Antoydya and Humsafar among others etc would benefit passengers of all categories. I would like to draw the attention of the

Government towards Maharashtra and my Parliamentary Constituency Akola in

Maharashtra where there is need to take effective steps to complete pending projects. I thank the Minister of Finance for approving the conversion of

Yavatmal-Murtijapur- narrow gauge built before independence. But it needs to be extended to Betul from Yavatmal as Betul is located on the busiest

Nagpur--Delhi line. This would benefit the local cotton farmers. There is a need for timely completion of approved gauge conversion of Ratlam-Fatehbad-

Indore-Mau-Khandwa-Amlakurd-Akot-Akola railway line. I thank the Hon.

Minister of Environment and Forests Shri Anil Madhav Dave Ji for the gauge conversion of Akola-Khandwa railway line under the division of

Southern-. But this case is still pending due to lack of clarity in the provisions of Forest Conservation Act, 1980 and Indian Railway Act, 1989.

There is a need for high level talks among the related ministries to resolve it on time.

SHRIMATI SANTOSH AHLAWAT: I support the Grants for demand of

Railways for year 2017-18. Hon'ble Prime Minister and Hon'ble Minister of

Railways have given a new direction to Railway Budget. The construction work of road overbridge in my constituency Jhunjhunu may be expedited. There is only one train no. 14811 and 14812 to Jhunjhunu, it should be run on daily basis and it may be re-scheduled to run 5.00 am in the morning to reach Delhi at 9.45 am and in the evening it should start at 6.00 pm from Delhi to reach at 11.00 pm in

Jhunjhunu. I request you to kindly maintain the status of Kyamsar station as 'B- grade' station. Train halt may be given at Rattan city where Chandranath ashram is situated and Nuvan. I request Hon'ble Minister of Railways to accord sanction for construction of underpass at Gram Takhalsar at Churu-Seekar railway track and village Garinda at railway crossing no. 35.

SHRI S.R. VIJAYA KUMAR: I express my profound gratitude and indebtedness to our revered leader Puratchi Thalaivi AMMA for being here in this august house to speak about the Grants for Railways for the year 2016-17.

Chennai, in Tamil Nadu, and Calicut, in Kerala, will be two among the 25 stations selected across the country for re-development. A new metro rail policy would focus on increasing job opportunities. We welcome Rashtriya Rail Sanraksha

Kosh. Rs. 2,278 crore allocated to Tamil Nadu in the Budget, the focus mostly on passenger safety, redevelopment of stations, cleanliness and making stations more accessible. A marginal increase of Rs. 22 crore from the allocation of Rs. 2042 crores in the year 2015-16. It is not at all enough for a progressive State like Tamil

Nadu. An amount of Rs. 134 crore has been allocated in the current Budget for

36km link between Morappur and Dharmapuri which was pending for long. I request that the proposed East Coast Corridor which terminates in Vijaywada should be extended up to Thoothukkudi. Diamond Quadrilateral High Speed Rail

Corridors announced 2 years earlier in the Rail Budget may be implemented soon.

Cleanliness in railways is still an area of more concern. With diversification of freight operation has necessitated the setting up of a rail auto hub near Chennai with a loading capacity of 300 vehicles. Tamil Nadu has many other pilgrim centres apart from Nagapattinam and Vailankanni which need upgradation.

Pilgrimage circuit should be developed in Tamil Nadu to boost economic activity and generate additional revenue to Railways. Initiatives such as installing LED luminaries in all Railway Stations in next 3 years; switching to composite sleepers made of recycled plastic; and setting up of Automatic coach washing plants to support water conservation, need effective implementation. Tamil Nadu needs world class infrastructure with better rail connectivity as mentioned by our visionary leader Puratchi Thalavi AMMA in the Vision Tamil Nadu 2023 document. Puratchi Thalaivi AMMA in her letter dated 11 February 2016, addressed to Hon. Prime Minister stressed the need for inclusion of ten important

Railway Projects crucial for the development of Rail Transport. Tamil Nadu is willing in principle to enter into an MoU with the Indian Railways to set up a

Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) to promote these projects and there should be assurances that these contributions by both sides would be made in time to ensure that projects do not suffer delays due to lack of adequate funding. A number of

Railway Projects announced for Tamil Nadu in the earlier Railway Budgets have not been commenced so far due to want of sufficient fund allocations. I request the

Union Government and Hon. Railway Minister that these pending Railway Projects pertaining to Tamil Nadu should be provided with adequate funds to expedite the completion of these projects.

SHRIMATI JAYSHREEBEN PATEL: I support the Grants for Demand for Railways for year 2017-18. Railway is a life-line for the people of this country.

Merging the Rail Budget and the General Budget is a historic initiative. This

Government has discontinued the colonial practice of presenting a separate Rail

Budget continued since 1924. I congratulate to hon. Prime Minister, the Finance

Minister and the Minister of Railways for this. I laud the Government for the provisions made in Rail Budget 2017-18. This is a mission to overhaul the Rail administration. I extend my sincere thanks to hon'ble Minister of Railways to provide a Budget of 8365 crore rupees for expansion of railway facilities in my

Constituency Mehsana and . Earlier Rail Budget was politicised but there is a sense of nationalism in this Budget. Today Gujarat has become an engine of growth for the country so far rail facilities are concerned. Gujarat was discriminated against by previous Governments. I request the Government to augment railway facility in my Constituency and passenger facilities be upgraded and employment may be generated for unemployed youth.

SHRI GANESH SINGH: First of all, I would like to thank the hon. Prime

Minister for taking a historic step and saving the Railways from the crisis being faced by it by merging the Railway Budget with the Union Budget. It will exempt the railways from paying the dividend thereby saving the Railways Rs. 4500 crore per year. The merger of Railway Budget will provide the Railways a relief with regard to announcement of popular under political pressures. This Budget will usher in a multi-model transportation scheme between Railways and the inland waterways. I would like to draw the attention of the government towards Madhya

Pradesh. has been constantly ignored during the UPA

Government. Rs.632 crore have been provided between the year 2009 and 2014, but when the NDA Government came into power, Prime Minister ji ensured the provision of Rs.2871 for Madhya Pradesh only during the year 2014 and 2017. I would like to draw the attention of the Government to Lalitpur-

Singrauli. This Scheme was approved in the year 1997-98. This Scheme is of 541 kms. An amount of Rs. 6093 crore was envisaged to be spent on this scheme, but till date only Rs.622.7 crore have been spent thereon. This is a matter of concern as to when this scheme will be completed. It is my suggestion that if work is started at four places simultaneously i.e. Satna to Panna, Khajuraho to Panna,

Rewa to Seedhi, Singrauli to Seedhi, then only this project could be completed on time. The electrification of the Rail line from Itarasi to Chhowki, which had been sanctioned in 2010-11 has not been completed as yet. This work may be started urgently. I would like to submit that there is an urgent need to construct an ROB at

Uchera between Satna and Maihar and at Birhauli between Satna and Rewa. These two tracks are quite busy and accidents take place there frequently. As such,

ROBs are required to be constructed there. A train may also be introduced between Satna-Rewa to Mumbai. A halt may be made at Ghunwara. I would like to demand that stoppages may be given at Jadwara of the Rewa-Anand Vihar train

No. 12427/12428, at Andhara of Sarnath Express, at Majhgam of Kamaini Express and at Baghai of Intercity train. The Satna railway station at Satna district is the most profitable station in the West Central Railway. If a MEMU car set factory is established over there, it will be much beneficial for the Railways. There is a need to change the coaches of Rewa-Anand Vihar Express and -Delhi

Mahakaushal Express. With these words, I fully support the Demands for Grants of the Ministry of Railways for the year 2017-18.

SHRI TARIQ ANWAR: In city, there lies a vacant land of about

111 acre along the Katihar- rail line near Gaushala. The Railways can start any new work or set up any industry like a coach repairing factory thereon.

The train No. 15227/15228, the -Yashwantpur Express train plies once a week. This train should ply on all days of the week. An over bridge each at

Bhagwan Chowk near KV Jha College on the Katihar- rail line and at

Raghunathpur railway crossing on the Tunigiri rail line needs to be constructed urgently. The expansion of rail line from Balighati Tejnarainpur upto

Bhaluka railway station of West Bengal under the Katihar Railway Division needs to be undertaken. The quota of seats for the passengers of Katihar needs to be increased in the train No. 15645/15646 and train No. 15647/15648 the

Lokmanya Tilak and Train No. 2251 and 2252 and 12519/12520 the Kamakhya

Lokmanya Tilak Express, train No. 13245/13246 the , train No.

13163/13164 Hatebazar Express and train No. 15227/15228 the Muzaffarpur

Express train. Besides, the emergency quota for the Katihar Railway Division should also be increased. Since our area is very backward, I, therefore, request the hon. Minister to kindly pay special attention to it.

SHRI G. HARI: The North-South Dedicated Freight Corridor from Delhi to

Chennai should have been extended up to Thoothukudi. Similarly, the East Coast corridor, could also been extended up to Thoothukudi. I urge the Union

Government to take necessary steps for the implementation and speedy completion of the important East Coast Railway project in Tamil Nadu. I also urge upon the

Government to support the proposed Phase II of the Metro Rail Project of Chennai and to ensure that all necessary clearances are provided expeditiously to provide fillip to the public transport system in the Chennai metropolitan City. The

Tindivanam-Nagari BG line project was inaugurated in 2007 but very little progress has been made so far. The railways have allotted Rs. 10 crores for the project in 2016-17. This is a meager amount for the progress of a very important project. The Ministry has a fixed timeframe target to complete this BG line before 2020. Because of this inordinate delay, the total cost of the project has escalated to

Rs. 1080 crores from Rs. 498 crores. Therefore, I urge the Union Government to take all possible steps to allocate sufficient funds for the speedy execution of above rail line. On behalf of the people of my Arkkonam constituency, I urge the hon. Minister to establish a new railway station near Vadamambakkam village between Arakkonam and Itchiputtur stations. There is an urgent need for creating a stoppage for the trains 12685/12686 Mangalore Express and 12164

Express at Arakkonam. The Trivandrum Mail Train No. 12624 should be given a stoppage at Arakkonam and Tiruttani. Also there is a need for stoppage for all trains, particularly the Brindavan Expess at railway station. I request the Union Government that pending Railway Projects pertaining to Tamil Nadu should be provided with adequate funds. I also request for expediting the completion of important railway needs of people of Tamil Nadu and Arakkonam constituency well within the stipulated time frame.

SHRI RAVINDRA KUMAR RAY: Rail network in Jharkhand falls under four divisional offices. Earlier a zonal office was considered to be set up in

Jharkhand but in the last moment it was shifted to from . So, I would like to request the government to set up a zonal office in Jharkhand. One of the important demand pertaining to Jharkhand is that main-line and line of railways should be interconnected. It is my request that rail connectivity between -Dhanbad via Madhupur should be materialized so that whole of the extremist infested area may be connected with rail link. I would also like to request that Madhuban should be provided with railway link. In addition to that, effort should be made to operate Rajdhani express on daily basis. Three important stations of my area i.e. Koderma, Hazaribagh and Parasnath should be upgraded as model station. Moreover, I would also like to request that various pending projects pertaining to Jharkhand should be completed. Work pertaining to

Chatra-Gaya railway line should be expedited by increasing the budget allocation.

Similarly, work pertaining to Barwadih-Chirmiri railway line should be undertaken. There is a need to operate a Jansatabdhi train between the capital city of Jharkhand Ranchi and the second capital city Dumka. In addition to that, it has become imperative to introduce trains to Mumbai, Surat and from

Ranchi. I would also request to reconsider the flexi ticket system.

SHRI MULLAPPALLY RAMACHANDRAN : One important aspect of this year's budget is to wipe off annual dividend paid by the Railway Ministry so that the investment made in the Railways- related PSUs would be treated as having come from the Union Government's accounts. The stipulation of the Union

Government that the State Governments must bear 50 per cent cost of the development projects will definitely impede Railway developments in States like

Kerala which is reeling under financial stress. Happy to note that the focus of Railways will be on four major areas namely 1) passenger safety 2) Capital and development works 3) Cleanliness and 4) Finance and accounting reforms. Kerala requires vast development in the Railway sector. The demand for Tellichery-

Mysore Railway line dates as far back as the period of the British rule. My earnest request to the Government is that this Railway line is to be given paramount importance. Nilambur- Nanjangode Railway- line is another important line which is highly essential for the development of Railways in Malabar area. Tellichery and stations are Adarsh Railway stations which require better passenger amenities, stoppage of more trains, face- lifting, food plazas, 24 hour booking counters etc. The minor railway stations in my constituency are mostly with short platforms. The raising and extension of platforms will help to avoid many casualties. Minor but important stations like Nadapuram Road, Jagnath Temple

Gate, Payyoli, Tikkodi, Iringal, Vellarakad and Chemanchery need platform extension/ raising. There is also urgent need for underpasses at Nandi, Tikkodi and

Kottakkadeva (Arangadath) and to expedite and complete the underpass work at

Quilandy (Bappangate) . Kannur International Airport, which is the largest Airport in Kerala, is nearing completion and there is urgent need to open a rail-line from

Tellichery to Kanur Airport at the earliest. I wish to draw the attention of the Hon.

Minister to an important matter relating to the passenger amenities on the trains bound for Kerala. Many of the coaches remain dirty and are old and dilapidated. SHRIMATI ANJU DALA: I admire Hon'ble Railway Minister for his effort to rejuvenate Railway. I demand for my Parliamentary Constituency

Mishrikh from the Minister for construction of Road over bridge at Sandila railway crossings on Lucknow-New Delhi Rail line so that commuters do not face any trouble. There is also a need to construct Road over Bridge at Uttari Pura on

Kanpur- Farrurkhabad Rail line. Keeping in view the problem of passengers, there is also a need to construct Road over bridge on Bilham Railway crossings.

Mishrikh and Nami Sharanya are major ancient pilgrimage. In view of coming devotees to these places in a large number, a new train must be started from

Kanpur to Delhi via Madhogunj, Balamau, Mishrikh and Sitapur at the earliest.

New Delhi- Nihalchand Superfast Express should be operated daily. Stoppage of

Begampura Express must be ensured at Kathna which operates between and Jammu Tavi.

DR. YASHWANT SINGH: Hon'ble Speaker Madam, thank you very much for giving me an opportunity to express my views on the Rail Budget 2017-

18. I congratulate the Hon'ble Minister of Railway for announcing construction of a rail line connecting Bijnor with Delhi via Meerut. A new train should be introduced to Mumbai for the facility of the passengers of Naziababad and

Dhampur. Railway crossing No. 42 C on Haldore to Ambeda rail route should be re-opened. Halt should be provided to train no. 14119 and 14120, 14115 and 14116 at the Dhampur railway station.

SHRI MUTHAMSETTI SRINIVASA RAO: I would like to mention about some railway lines and projects pertaining to the State of Andhra Pradesh.

The Government of India had assured during the formation of the State that a new

Railway Zone will be set up at Vishakhapatnam in the State of Andhra Pradesh, comprising of three Divisions, namely Vijayawada, Guntur and Guntakal and the

Waltair Division of the East Coast Railway. It has become a sentimental issue since it is pending for last ten years. It is now obvious to integrate the three

Divisions of South Central Railway with Waltair Division of the East Coast

Railway and give the State of Andhra Pradesh a new Railway Zone to give fillip to its economy. This would provide employment opportunities to the youths of the

State. With regard to my constituency, I would like to request the Government to develop the Anakapalle, Duvvada and Pendurthi as model stations. I would also like to request the Government to increase the amount to complete the survey and also the new Railway line between Narsipatnam and Kotthavala. I would also request for introduction of two new passenger trains from Samarlakota -

Visakhapatnam - Samarlakota should be introduced during day time because many passengers are travelling from Rajamundry to Visakhapatnam. SHRI GAJENDRA SINGH SHEKHAWAT: I have requested Hon'ble

Railway Minister to increase the frequency of South bound trains and to start night train service from Jodhpur to Ahmedabad (daily) and from Jodhpur to Chennai

(daily). There is a need to develop Bharat Ki Kothi and Banad Stations as

Passenger Terminals beside Jodhpur. Bharat Ki Kothi container Depot should be shifted to Salawas. Jodhpur- Ahmedabad Express and Bharat ki Kothi- Dadar

Express must be operated daily. There should be the stoppage of Jaipur- Kota-

Bhopal passenger train at Jodhpur Cantt Station.

SHRI GOPAL SHETTY: Number of deaths in accidents in suburban railway lines is not decreasing. Work should starts as soon as possible in the much awaited elevated rail corridor from Churchgate to Virar. Escalators should be provided in all the suburban stations. Maximum access points should be given in all railway stations particularly in Kandivali and Malad. Kindly ask G.M. Mumbai to take up with the Municipal Commissioner the construction of approach road connecting to railway station.

SHRI DHARMENDRA YADAV: I feel that in this budget life line of our country Indian Railway has been undermineed. I would like to point out certain serious problems of the railways. Number of underpasses built between Bareilly-

Badayun section is very less. Moreover during the rainy season various problems arises due to inundation which causes heavy traffic jams in the area. Work pertaining to the gauge conversion of Badayun-Kasganj rail line has been completed but I would like to request the government to take-up the electrification and doubling work also alongwith the gauge conversion. I would also like to request that Badayun should be connected via rail link to Delhi and Lucknow.

Similarly, ROB should be constructed at Lal Phatak in Bareilly. Work pertaining to Mainpuri- rail line has been completed but train services are yet to be introduced. Apart from that common people are facing lot of inconvenience due to non-availability of General bogey in trains. I would also like to request that bullet train services should also be introduced in .

DR. VIRENDRA KUMAR: Railways have been allotted Rs. 55 thousand crore as Union Budget assistance. In addition to that, railway would mobilize 14 thousand crore rupees from its internal resources and 62 thousand crore rupees from other than budgetary allocation. I would like to request the government that

Lalitpur-Singrauli rail line project should be completed at the earliest by constructing tunnel in the Panna Tiger Reserve forest area. There is also need to provide stoppage of all the express trains at Orcha. Similarly, intercity express should be introduced between Khajuraho and Indore at the earliest. There is a need to introduce a Mazdoor express train from Jhansi to Delhi via Tikamgarh. In addition to that, setting up of railway university and training centre at Tikamgarh will boost the industrial and educational development in the area. There is a need to set up a rail coach factory in the Chhattarpur area which is an important industrial hub. Similarly, stoppages of all the trains should be provided at Dumra station. should be extended upto Khajuraho, a place international tourist importance. There is a need to construct another platform and foot over bridge at Nimadi and Harpalpur station. Work pertaining to the railway bridge on

NH-77 near Harpalpur station should be completed at the earliest. Similarly railway line should be constructed after completing the survey work pertaining to

Jhanshi to Orcha, Prithvipur, Tikamgarh, Dhuwara, Shahgarh rail line. Stoppages of all the express trains should be provided at Teherka station. In addition to that it has become imperative to undertake the doubling and electrification of Lalitpur,

Tikamgarh, Chhatarpur, Khajuraho rail lines. A new train services should be introduced from Tikamgarh to the economic capital of our country Mumbai.

SHRI DADDAN MISHRA: All the formalities for New Rail line of

Bahraich-Bhinga-Shravasti-Balarampur-Utrawla-Dumriyaganj-Bansi-Khalilabad announced in 2016-17 should be completed and it should be implemented at the earliest. ROB/RUB on Fulwariya Bypass sanctioned earlier should be completed at the earliest. ROB may be built after making National Highway Jharkhandi station

Balrampur crossing free. Construction of ROB/RUB on Railway Track near Rapti bridge number 151 between Jharkhandi and Gaijahava Railway station is required.

Construction of ROB/RUB in Manikaura Kashiram Village between Tulsipur and Labudwa station is necessary. It is necessary to construct ROB/RUB on Railway crossing at Bakoli, Dalpur, Lalpur, Bhawandih, Sonpur, Senbarsa, Sangrampur

Lathavardih. I suggest that the AC special train which runs from Lucknow at 11.30 p.m. to Delhi should be extended via , Badni, , Sushasun

Express should run daily. The Inter-city at night via Badni-Balrampur between

Gorakhpur to Gomtinagar should be halted at Pachpedwa station and Inter-city from Gorakhpur to Badshah Nagar should be halted at Gaisdi. The Inter-city running from Gonda to Varanasi should be extended to Balrampur and Badni.

Bihar Sampark Kranti, Sapt Kranti Express, Amritsar Seharsa, Garibrath Express,

Udaipur New Jalpaigudi Express, New Delhi Naharlagun AC Express etc. all

Superfast/Express train should be halted at Gonda Station. The Rajdhani Express to Dibrugarh via Lucknow-Varanasi-Baliya- from New Delhi during three day of a week should be run via Gonda-Balrampur-Badni- Gorakhpur-Chhapra during rest four days of the week. EMU train should be started at the earliest on rail line between Lucknow to Gonda.

SHRI RADHESHYAM BISWAS: We all know that Indian Railway is lifeline for the Indians. But even after 67 years of Independence, the North East

States of India are yet to be connected with railway network properly. I would request the Government to assure us that he would expedite the work for completion of Bogibeel Bridge, -Mukongselek broad gauge conversion, Dhudhnhoi - Mednipathar new line, board gauge railway line from new Moinaguri to Jogighopa and Dullabchera to Cherragi under NF Railways of Assam. Hike in freight rate is also matter of concern which is putting additional burden on common people. I would also like to draw the kind attention about a long term demand of my constituency to declare Badarpur as Railway Division. I would request the Government to re-open the railway lines that have been closed and non- functional for years and upgrade Dhubri and Mahisashan stations as model stations. I would like to request the hon. Minister to introduce some more new trains for the people of North Eastern States. Such as introduction of Rajdhani

Express from Agartala to New Delhi, new trains between Dhubri to Guwahati,

Boirabhi to Guwahati, Boirabhi to Tinsukiya are the main demand of this State.

Construction of new railway lines from Patharkandi to Kahnmun of Mizoram and in Barpeta district alongwith the construction of RUB/ROB at different crossing is also needed in Hailkandi, Karimganj, Goal Para, Dhubri and Barpeta district in

Assam to avoid accidents.

DR. J. JAYAVARDHAN: The Ministry of railway has circulated a draft

Joint Venture Agreement to be entered into between the Ministry of Railway and the Government of Tamil Nadu to form a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) to execute Railway Project in Tamil Nadu. The manner in which the draft Joint

Venture Agreement is worded leaves us with a distinct impression that the state Government are being roped in to bear the cost burden on what is essentially a

Union Government responsibility under the Constitution. There should be a clear understanding that funds would not be diverted to other projects. It is only fair to expect the Ministry of Railway to come forward and share the responsibility of project implementation, costs and profits or losses of the SPV as equal partners with State Governments. I request the Railway minister to expedite of Railway

Projects announced for Tamil Nadu in the earlier Railway Budgets and allocate sufficient funds. The link between Velachery and St. Thomas Mount is yet to be provided and the work is progressing at a snail pace. The Ministry of Railway should re-look it to enhance the quality of MRTS services in Chennai. Also, double discharge platform at Egmore, Chetpet, Kodambakkam, Saidapet, Guindy, St.

Thomas Mount, Pallavaram and Chrompet station has to be completed at the earliest.

SHRIMATI RITA TARAI: In my constituency, Jajpur, Odisha, most of the railway stations have not seen any progress in the last 7 decades. Basic amenities are missing that need special attention. Haridaspur station can be used by tourists to visit the Buddhist Heritage triangle that includes Lalitgiri, Udayagiri,

Ratnagiri, langudi and help develop the local economy. All trains must halt at

Haridaspur station. Rajdhani Express 22824 via Tata should halt at the J.J.K.R. Road station, which is a gate way to Kalinga Nagar, the greatest steel hub of the world. Preliminary survey/work may be initiated from Jajpur Road to

Dhamra post via jajpur town. JAJPUR District provides huge revenue to the railway from the freight of the mineral ores and finished steel products from its steel plants. I would request the Hon'ble Minister to take needful action for a technical study for extending rail connectivity to Dharma port via Jajpur Town and sanction funds.

SHRI KAMAKHYA PRASAD TASA: It is our demand that some sort connectivity should be provided to the North-Eastern states. In the budget 37 project have been provided for the North-Eastern Areas and work is going on. It has brought some sense of hope among us that our area would be provided connectivity with the main land. Now, rail connectivity is available for

Arunanchal, Manipur and Tripura. Previously there was no rail connectivity in

Manipur but now it is being constructed. I would request that work pertaining to

Shivsagar-Jhorhat, Salna-Khumtai, Tezpur-Silgar, Saraighat-Bridge, Kamkhya-

New Guwahati rail line should be completed at the earliest. Similarly, upgradation of railway stations is also needed. There are 20 major railway projects including 13 projects for new lines, two projects for gauge conversion and five for doubling of lines in this area. It will be good if these projects are completed without delay.

The speed of the Jan Shatabdi and the which provides connectivity to the main land should be increased. The should be extended from Guwahati to Dibrugarh. The another thing is that the North East has to face problems related to Railway Over Bridges. Hence, I would like to request that the construction of Railway Over Bridge should be financed 100 per cent by the Central Government. As far as upgradation of stations are concerned, the major stations like Tinsukhiya, Shivsagar, Moreni, Shimligudi and Jorhat should be included therein. I would also like to request that the speed of the trains plying from Arunachal Pradesh should be increased and the timing of movement is also required to be monitored. The quarterly meetings of zonal committee should be held regularly by including the Members of Parliament which will bring good result.

SHRI HARISHCHANDRA CHAVAN: Taking inspiration from the clean

India campaign of the hon'ble Prime Minister, special emphasis has laid given on cleanliness in trains. I wholeheartedly support the provisions made in the General

Budget for Railway. There is a need to expand rail network in Maharashtra including my Constituency Dindori. There is a need to conduct a survey for laying of Nasik- Surat- Nasik- Dahanu new rail lines. In order to increase rail tourism, the pilgrimage and tourist places in Maharashtra should be promoted. Provision of escalators should be made at the Manmad Junction and Nasik railway station and

Nagarsul station should be made a terminal. A flyover should be constructed at railway crossing on the State highway No. 25. Stoppage should be provided to the , Nandigram Express at the Lasalgaon railway station. There is a demand from the local people to provide stoppage to , Sevagram

Express trains at Nyayadongri station. Extension of Jalna- Nagarsul DEMU to

Egatpuri station will benefit large number of passengers. The waiting shed for the passengers at the Nandgaon station is too small, it should be expanded. Keeping in view the increasing number of passengers, Mumbai- Hazrat Nizzamuddin Express and Mumbai- Haridwar Express should run daily for the convenience of the passengers from North Maharashtra to North India. There is a need to attach a pantry car to the Mumbai- Haridwar Express. Manmad- Nasik- Kasara and

Kasara- Nasik- Manmad local trains should be introduced. The route from

Manmad to Jalana under South Central Railway should be doubled and electrified.

A Rail Neer Project should be set up in my Parliamentary Constituency Dindori in

Nasik district of Maharashtra.

SHRI ANTO ANTONY: First of all, I would like to raise my concern over the merger of the Railway Budget with the General Budget. Since the Railways need a huge amount for enhancing the safety measures and modernization, what is desirable is a separate Budget for the Railways. Therefore, I request the

Government to reinstate the Railway Budget. The present Government declared that 400 railway stations in the country would be modernized under the PPP mode.

I take this opportunity to congratulate the Government for continuing with this model. Tiruvalla station the only railway station in my Parliamentary

Constituency, is also included amongst these 400 railway stations to be modernized under the PPP mode. Tiruvalla Railway Station is the nearest point to

Sabrimala Shrine, which is a national pilgrim centre attracted by about 4 crore of devotees across the country every year. Therefore, I request the Government to grant stoppage to Jan at Tiruvalla Railway Station. Moreover,

Sabarimala is one of the largest pilgrim centres in the country where the devotees visit a Muslim mosque first and then proceed to . Therefore, I urge the

Government to take immediate steps to start construction of Sabari railway line in

Kottayam District.

SHRI VISHNU DAYAL RAM: Earlier rail budget happens to be the political document instead of a vision document. Cruel jokes had been played with the Indian Railways through the Rail Budget and the financial health of railway continued declining. The Prime Minister wants to make railway the strong backbone of economic growth of India. The role of Indian railways in economic growth of the country is very important. Road and Air travel cannot take the place of rail travel. The rail travel is cheaper and convenient to the poor even today.

Today there is need to ponder over the point as to how the condition of the railway can be improved. At present the requirement of hiking passenger fair is felt time and again but doing so is not considered proper from the people's welfare point of view. The hon'ble Minister has fixed the priorities of the railways for better train facilities which has also been referred to by the Finance Minister in his budget speech. According to this the first priority of railway is passenger safety. Second priority is capital and developmental work. Third priority is cleanliness and fourth one is financial and accounting reforms. During the next five years a National Rail

Safety Fund of worth rupees one lakh crore will be constituted for the passenger safety. Assistance of international experts will also be taken for strengthening of safety measures. Cleanliness in trains has been a big challenge and now SMS based "Clean my Coach" service is also being started to address this problem. Now railways will also appoint ' Coach Mitra' who will help the passengers in keeping coaches neat and clean. Besides there is a proposal of laying of 3500 Kilometers of new rail lines during the year 2017-18. In the budget several rail projects in

Jharkhand have also been announced. I request the government to complete these projects on priority basis.

SHRI CHANDRA PRAKASH JOSHI: This is a historical budget earmarking a corpus of Rs.1,31,000 crore to implement the decisions taken for safety, proper management and for developing a sort of infrastructure. Rs.1 lakh crore has been provided for the safety of railway in this Budget to construct under- pass and ROBs on all the broad-gauge railway crossings and to install signals by the year 2020. This is a historical decision. People had been demanding for years to convert the railway lines of 152 km from Mavli to Marwar into broad-gauge and this Government has approved this plan with the outlay of about Rs.1600 crore. I would like to thank the hon. Minister for this move. I would like to demand from the Government that the ongoing doubling of railway lines between Chittor to

Nimach should be extended to Ratlam. If a survey of railway lines for doubling is conducted in Ajmer, Udaipur and Chittor, the fast trains like Rajdhani and

Shatabdi will also be able to ply on those tracks. The constituency I represent is known to be the largest cement hub in Asia and if a marble container depot is set up there, then the people will not have to go for a long distance. I would also like to demand from the Government to establish an electric shed in Chittor as it will facilitate the maintenance work as well as the execution of other work. If Chittor is chosen for setting up of for electric shed, it will create job opportunities for the people of this area. It is also demanded from the Government that a DEMU coach factory should be set up in Chittor itself so that this area may be led towards development. The Mumbai- and Udaipur-Ajmer should be plied every day.

I, through you, would also request the Government to introduce a direct train from

Chittor to Bengaluru and Hyderabad in the south.

SHRI RAM KUMAR SHARMA: The important aspect of this Budget is that the railway has now been exempted from the payment of annual dividends of

Rs.9700 crore on its total capital of Rs.227 lakh crore. I would like to demand from the railway Minister that the washing pit should necessarily be constructed in

Sitamarhi where land is available for this purpose, so that trains may originate from Sitamarhi to other places. At the same time, I demand that a train which plies from Narkatiya Ganj to Raksaul and from Raksaul to Muzaffarpur, should be extended to Patliputra via Raksaul and Sitamarhi in order to provide connectivity between Sitamarhi and Patliputra. This will benefit to the people from Sitamarhi and Seohar. Moreover, a DEMU train which used to run from Darbhanga to

Muzaffarpur has been discontinued. I demand that the same be reinstated from

Darbhanga to Patliputra. Besides, a weekly train running from Katra to Kamakhya should be run on bi-weekly basis.

ADV. JOICE GEORGE: I confine myself to two issues. My constituency is an unrailed area even though Angamali- Abarimala broad gauge railway line which is passing through my area, has been sanctioned and commenced the construction work in the year 1998. Even after 19 years of sanctioning the project, the railway could complete only 5 Kms of rail line out of the total length of 116

Km. The project had been shelved for some time. But now the issue has been settled and the State Governments has taken a decision to share the cost of the project. In the present Budget an amount of Rs. 113.59 crore as Railway Fund and

Rs. 100 crore as EBR has been sanctioned for Angamali- Sabarimala Rail project.

During the 16th PRAGATI interaction on 16th October, 2016, the Government of Kerala requested the Hon'ble Prime Minister to implement the project with full central fund. It is understood that, the Hon'ble Railway Minister also agreed for the same while discussing the matter with the Chief Minister of Kerala. But when we discuss the matter with the railway authorities, they insured for an assurance from the State Government for sharing the cost of the project to the tune of 50% as a prerequisite for processing the revised estimate of the project. I urge upon the

Hon'ble Prime Minister to intervene the matter and take steps to speed up the implementation of the Angamali- Sabari Rail project. Another issue is regarding the closure of Non- Rail Head passenger reservation Centers (NRHPRS) at

Kumali, Munnar, Nedumkandam and Idukki. These are certain areas in the remote areas of the hill district in Idukki. The PRS were used by the Tourists, inter State plantation labours and other people. But the Railway has taken a unilateral decision to close down the PRS adding hardship to the railway passengers from the district where no rail connectivity is available. Provision for survey of new railway line - Madurai and Theni- Sabarai Mala had been made in the 2016-

17 railway budget, but unfortunately nothing has been done to start the survey.

The Kochi- Madura and Theni- Sabarimala are long pending demands of the people of Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

KUMARI SHOBHA KARANDLAJE: With the Government doing away with 92 year practice of a separate annual railway budget, Finance Minister was firmly focused on passenger safety, capital and development works for modernisation, cleanliness, and finance and accounting reforms to overhaul the massive network. It's a good and supportive budget as it focuses on making railways a better mode of transport. I welcome that the Government did not make any announcement on the rail fare hike. The Finance Minister allocated Rs. 3,174 crore, up from last year's Rs. 2779 crore for railway projects in Karnataka. For the

State of Karnataka major chunk of the allocations have been made to line doubling, including Hubbali-Vasco-da-Gama; Hotgi-Gadag; Hubballi-Chikkajajur

(Bengaluru line); Arsikere-Tumakuru and -Penukonda under South

Western Railway. Some of the new line works too got a boost, including

Rayadurg-Tumakuru; Bagalkot-Kudachi; Tumakuru-Chitradurga-Davangere;

Hassan-Bengaluru and Gadag-Wadi. Of the total allocation of Rs. 3,146 crore to

SWR, Rs. 331.8 crore are earmarked for new lines; Rs. 309.6 crore for doubling and Rs. 59 crore for traffic facilities. A new train route between Chikkabenakal-

Gangavati will be introduced; there will be route doubling between -

Kalaburgi, Raichur-Guntakal, -Guntakal and Bengaluru will get two new metro lines; New lines sanctioned; Kalaburgi-Bidar, Raichur-Mahabubnagar,

Kadapa-Bangalore; Gadag-Yalvigi new line sanctioned; Mangalore-Panambur and

Neravati Cabin-Mangaluru Central doubling under Southern Railway approved.

There is a push for rail electrification in the State, with Chikkabanavara-Hubballi; Chikkajajur-Ballari; Gadag-Hotgi; and Bengaluru-Omalur via Hosur proposed to be added to the electrification network. The Bengaluru-Hassan via

Shravanabelgola new line was sanctioned in 1996-97. -Ankola, the new line project, was sanctioned in 1997-98. But Bengaluru-Sathyamangala and Hubli-

Ankola projects were cancelled due to abnormal delays. Bengaluru-Hassan via

Shravanabelgola project was approved based on socio-economic considerations.

The original cost of the project was Rs. 295.75 crores. The first stretch of 44 kilometers between Hassan and Shravanabelgola was completed in 2006, but now the revised estimate of the project has zoomed to Rs. 1289.92 crore. I urge the

Railway Minister to include New Mangalore Port Trust (NMPT) under the Konkan

Railway. I also demand a Survey for Chikkamagluru-Sringeri-Karkala railway line and priority be given to doubling of lines on Konkan Railway route. I also hope that the new Chikmagalur-Sakleshpur rail line project would be completed as early as possible, adequate funds should be provided for the project. There is need to replace rickety tracks, old coaches and outdated signaling and other systems with new structures and latest technology. The Budget did away with service charge on e-tickets booked through IRCTC to promote digital transactions, plans to award at least 25 stations for redevelopment in the next financial year. 500 stations shall be made disabled-friendly with lifts and escalators being installed. 7000 stations will be powered using solar energy. There will be no toilet discharge on tracks. All train coaches will be fitted with bio-toilets by 2019. The budget also laid down plans for a new Metro Policy for urban centres, the Government plans a new Metro

Rail Act. Adequate medical facilities need to be available with a medical practitioner on board at all times. Railways must also keep in mind women's safety. I express my support for the Demands for Grants of Ministry of Railways.

SHRIMATI RITI PATHAK: The way hon. Rail Minister has made efforts to check rail accidents deserve appreciation. The expenditure of Rs.35000 crore every year on the construction of rail tracks will lead our country to the growth trajectory. The district Singrauli which comes under my parliamentary constituency, Sidhi is known to be a big power hub. But I am constrained to point out that my constituency remained deprived of rail connectivity for long due to the indifference of the erstwhile dispensation. I would like to thank the present

Government for providing over Rs.1000 crore for Lalitpur- Singrauli railway line during the last two and half years leading to the hassle-free execution of our projects. The hon. Rail Minister announced a new train from Singrauli to Delhi and Bhopal which should be run without delay. I humbly request that the stoppage of the should be provided at Vijayshrota and Joba railway stations. The ongoing doubling and electrification work between Katni and

Chopan needs to be expedited. Directives should be issued to the officers for this purpose. More important point which I like to make is that the Lalitpur- Singrauli railway line project, is being implemented between Riva and Singrauli should be completed at the earliest.

SHRIMATI K. MARAGATHAM: Indian Railways is the 8th biggest employees organisation in the world. Passenger Safety, Cleanliness, Infrastructure have remained area of great concern for years. Every year tragic rail accidents occur due to improper infrastructure, and mismanagement. The recent Patna-

Indore accident killed more than 146 people. I draw the attention of the Union

Government and the Railway Minister to give prior attention to this. Our Hon'ble

Leader Late Puratchi Thalaivi Amma has also stated the importance of Passenger

Safety about 2016 Railway Budget. Our Hon'ble Amma said Passenger Safety,

Safety of Women Passengers, Cleanliness in Railways both in the Train and

Railway Station is very essential. Amma also stressed for High Priority Status given to Chennai in the 'Diamond Quadrilateral High Speed Railnetwork' and I want to know its current status from Hon'ble Railway Minister. I am bringing the following long pending Railway Demands of my Kacheepuram Parliamentary

Constituency for your kind necessary action. Escalator Facility may be installed at

Chengalpattu and Kancheepuram Railway Station. A Sub-way at Level Crossing

No. 45, between Thirukalukundram and Chengalpattu may be constructed. A

Railway Reservation Centre may be setup at Madurantakam or Siruseri Industries

Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu (SIPCOT). Connectivity of EMU from Kancheepuram Railway Station to Chennai Beach- Tirumalpur and Sriperumbudur may be increased. Stoppage at Madurantakam Railway Station for Train No.

16127/Guruvayur Exp; 16105/Thiruchendur Exp; 16853/Cholan Exp;

16351/Mumbai-Nagercoli Exp may be given. Stoppage of EMU Train No.

40804/40802 Chennai Beach-Kancheepura at Villiyambakkam and Rettipalayam

Railway Stations may be provided.

SHRI RAJESH RANJAN: 120 crore people of the country expect that the

Hon. Railway Minister will work in such a way that will make our system people- friendly. He delivered only on 72 promises out of 132. I would like to urge that the confirmed tickets should be provided at concessional rate to the students for journey enabling them to appear at competitive examinations. Moreover, the people from BPL and the deprived family specially from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh should be provided confirmed tickets to travel to the other places for the treatment of diseases like cancer, TB, brain tumour and heart ailments. At the same time they should be charged only half of the prescribed fare. I would also like to urge that the process of getting tickets confirmed needs to be simplified. More importantly the role of middle men in this process should be checked. I would also like to request that special coaches should invariably be provided for labourers.

The availability of confirmed tickets for them should also be ensured. The persons doing petty jobs on the railway lands for their livelihoods should not be harassed. Catering facilities are not upto the mark in any train. Work on the Saharsa-

Forbesganj rail section is not at the required pace. No funds have been allocated for the Kursela-Bihariganj section. The work on the Banmankhi-Bihariganj section is going on a slow pace. Even after independence Seohar is yet to get a rail connection. It is very essential to connect Rajgir with Bodhgaya and with

Hajaribagh. Rajdhani express should run twice a week via Saharsa and Purvia express as well as Amritsar Garibrath should run daily. Delhi should be connected with Saharsa with a train like Sampurna Kranti express. Intercity should connect

Jainagar with Saharsa. The train touching should run thrice a week via

Madhepura to -Katiyar. Stoppage is necessary for Dibrugarh-New Delhi

Rajdhani express 12423/12424 at Khagariya. I have also requested for a rail over bridge at Sahebganj. DRM office should be opened in Saharsa.

SHRI DEVJI M. PATEL: Our Government has taken a commendable steps by merging Railway Budget with General Budget. Indian Railway binds

India as one Nation. I demand to declare Jalore, Raniwada, Bhinmal, Modaram stations as Model Railway Station including Abu Road. Pantry car should be attached in Chennai- Jodhpur Express (16125/16126) train and enhance the frequency of this train. Frequency of Bikaner- Dadar Superfast train

(12489/12490) which ply two days in a week between Bikaner and Dadar. Even after decades of Independence, Jalore district is still not liked with Jaipur. Barmer- Yashwantpur AC Express (14805/14806) ply once in a week. It's frequency must be increased as it will be very helpful for migrants of South India. Keeping in view the problem of passengers and villagers, stoppage of Ashram Express and

Garib Rath Express must be provided at Sirohi Station. DMU (79437/79438,

79431/79432) fast- train should be extended upto Falna so that it will facilitate farmers and businessmen travelling to Palanpur, Mehsana and Ahmedabad. There is no train from Swaroopganj Railway Station to go Jodhpur- Medata- Bikaner.

Sirohi Road is not a revenue village. So the name of this station should be changed as Pindwara Railway Station.

SHRI SHARAD TRIPATHI: Sant Kabir Nagar known as Khalilabad station has not been made a junction. The hon. Minister of Railway got the rail line surveyed. For the laying the tracks the hon. Minister has allocated Rs.8530 crores and for ROBs Rs.1538 crores have also been allocated. Not only this for electrification Rs.376 crores have been provided. Khalilabad railway station should be named Sant Kabir Nagar railway station. Special trains should be introduced from here for Chennai, Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata. An Inter-city express be introduced from Khalilabad to Allahabad. Jan Nayak express, LTT express and Gorakhpur-Dehradun Train No. 5005 be provided stoppage at Sant

Kabir Nagar. Showing special sensitivity, the hon. Prime Minister has provided more than Rs.8000 crores for the North Eastern states. A train should be introduced between Akbarpur to Ramnagar via Sultanpur upto Azamgarh. A train has been provided between Sahjanwa to Dohrighat. It should be run via Khajni

Vidhan Sabha to shorten the distance and reduce the operating cost.

SHRI JANARDAN SINGH SIGRIWAL: This Rail Budget is historical and I congratulate Hon'ble Prime Minister and Minister of Railways. Necessary action may be taken to start rail operations between Maharjganj and Mashrak.

Ekma station may be setup under North-Eastern Gorakhpur section. Halt may be provided for Amrapali Express (15707 Up, 15708 Down, Gwalior Mail 11123 Up,

11124 Down) and Lucknow-Patliputra Mail (15229 Up, 15230 Down) at Ekma

Station. Halt may be provided for Maurya Express (15027 Up, 15028 Down),

Jansewa Express (15209 Up, 15210 Down) and Intercity Express at Daudpur

Railway Station under Gorakhpur section. Rail Over Bridge may be constructed at

Majhi railway station under Gorakhpur section.

SHRI KAUSHALENDRA KUMAR: The functioning of Railways is going to be bad to worse. Some of the serious rail accidents in the past 2-3 months pose a big question mark regarding the safety and security of the Railways. RPF should be strengthened and GRP should be merged with it. Railway safety should be top most priority. For the first time after independence, revenue of railways has come down. So has the number of passengers. Regarding freight traffic it has fared much worse. In the name of railway flexi fare, passengers are being fleeced as the fares have been increased 1.5 times in the Rajdhani and Shatabdi trains.

Catering is of very poor quality in all the trains. There is no lighting arrangement, no drinking water and no passenger sheds in all the halts from Patna to Bihar

Sharif-Rajgir via Daniyawan. This should be looked into. Stoppage for Howrah-

Patna Jan Shatabdi must be provided at Bakhtiyarpur. Rahuy should be made a station. About 28 ongoing railway projects in Bihar should be completed at the earliest. The frequency of all the weekly trains in Bihar should be increased.

Katihar-Patna Intercity express be extended upto .

DR. PRITAM GOPINATH MUNDE: Keeping the autonomy of Railways intact, the Union Government have absolved the Railways of their liability to pay a dividend of 9700 crore rupees to Union Government. I am very thankful to

Hon'ble Prime Minister and Minister of Railways for this. It is a welcome step.

This Budget has been made extremely customer friendly from four perspectives of

Rail Safety, Facility, Cleanliness and Development. The Government has made a provision of 780 crore rupees for Nagar-Beed-Parli railway of my constituency and

I thanks Hon'ble Prime Minister and Minister of Railways for this. I want to put forward some of my demands. Halt may be provided at Barshi Raod Naka. Rail storage yard may be constructed at Barshi Road. -Mumbai rail may be extended to Parli-Vaidyanath ( District- Beed). Parli- Vaidyanath station may be connected with Central Zone. An R.O.B may be constructed at "Malewadi" village of my constituency (Taluk-Parli, District Beed). I strongly support this Budget.

SHRIMATI RANJANBEN BHATT: Indian Railway is the engine of country's development. This is most reliable and easy connecting system for interlinking of the whole country. I am thankful to the Hon'ble Railway Minister to include in the list of Model Station which is in my Parliamentary

Constituency. I am also very thankful for making a provision of Rs. 25 crores for

Railway University in Vadodara, doubling of Anand-Godhara Rail Line,

Ahmedabad-Godhara line segregation and construction of Dedicated Freight corridor in the Budget. I demand to transform Vadodara as a Model Station and develop Chhayaprui Railway Station as a Satellite Station. must be operated from Vadodara to Varanasi.

SHRI M.K. RAGHAVAN: I suggest that there should be an increase in the frequency of the following pairs of trains: Yeshwantpur train, Rajdhani Express,

Kachiguda Express, , Madhgaon Express and Pondicherry Express.

I would request that train No.56666 be converted into a DEMU and extended to

Guruvayur. There has been a concerted demand over the years for a Sabari railway line to Sabarimala. Similarly the demand for a Guruvayur-Thiruvannamalai line has been pending for over 30 years. Coaches and washrooms stink. Railways should enhance their food safety wing to ensure supply of quality food to its passengers. Availability of more vendors should be ensured for supply of food.

West Coast Express, Intercity Express, Intercity Superfast Express, Yesvantpur

Express and should stop at and Koyilandy - two important stations in my constituency. Human safety is a major concern especially for women passengers. Deployment of female police officials be ensured. Lack of proper and timely track maintenance is causing a large number of railway accidents across the country. There are around 238 vulnerable spots in Kerala and hence the trains are running at slower speed.

SHRIMATI DARSHANA VIKRAM JARDOSH: I welcome the steps taken by the hon. Minister of Railways to improve the financial condition of the

Railways, digitalization and security. Rs.3500 crores would be spent on PPP model to make world class. Work has begun on

Ahemadabad to Mumbai Bullet train. Surat-Mahua (12945-46)- should run daily at 8 p.m. from Surat. 8 Sampark Kranti trains and 12 Duranto express trains should stop at Surat. Sehyaji express should have a stoppage at Kim railway station. Surat stations should have a DRM office and should become a division.

The Railway Minister has announced running a Tejas train. There is no direct train from Surat to Ahemadabad between 5:30 and 10:30 a.m. This should be looked into. Chair Car Coach should be provided in trains running between Surat to Ahemadabad. Pantry Car should be reintroduced in the Rajdhani express and

August Kranti train running from Mumbai to New Delhi and Nizamuddin.

SHRIMATI PRIYANKA SINGH RAWAT: Every now and then our

Government is trying to do something new keeping in mind the aspirations of the people. There are some major demands for my Parliamentary constituency

Barabanki. Two lines of N.E.R. and N.R. Railway zones joines in Deva Road.

Accidents occur at this point frequently. There is a need to construct Rail Under

Pass keeping in view the above situation. There is traffic congestion for hours due to Rail Line in Fatehpur (Kursi). I demand for construction of Rail Over Bridge at this point. I also demand to make an arrangement for the stoppages of Faizabad

Intercity - 14221, Mau Express - 15026, Kabir Guru Express - 19709, Garib Rath

Express - 22203, Delhi - Faizabad Express - 14206, - 15098, and Dibrugarh Express - 159034 at Barabanki Station.

SHRIMATI NEELAM SONKER: I support the railway budget 2017-

2018. My Lok Sabha Constituency falls under Lalganj area (Azamgarh) Uttar

Pradesh. It is a most backward area and even after the independence of 60 years, it is deprived of the facilities of railways. I had requested to lay railway line at

Varanasi-Lalganj-Azamgarh-Mubarakpur-Gorakhpur section. I request to the hon'ble Minister to include the work of laying the said track in their budget. KUNWAR HARIBANSH SINGH: Varanasi is the parliamentary constituency of our hon. Prime Minister and it also happens to be the cultural capital of the country. I demand for a fast train from Varanasi to Mumbai. A bullet train project from Mumbai to Ahmedabad is being talked about and the second such bullet train project should be executed from Mumbai to Varanasi as

Mumbai is our financial capital and Varanasi is our cultural capital. There is a train from Pratapgarh to Mumbai once in a week. Saket express from Faizabad to

Pratabgarh via Allahabad also plies once in a week. I demand that these trains should be plied all seven days because many poor people from Purvanchal region live in Mumbai. The DPR finalized for our region should be cleared by the cabinet and also by the Niti Ayog so that work could be commenced soon. There is no train from Pratapgarh to Ahmedabad and Surat. Therefore, a train should be introduced to these destinations.

SHRI NALIN KUMAR KATEEL: This was the first time since 1924, that the Railways Budget was merged with the Union Budget. The Government need to put an effective mechanism in place to find ways to increase revenue growth by attracting the freght volumes. So it would provide a great push to growth of the economic activities of the country. I would like to point out that there is an urgent need for schemes like National Highways Development Project and PMGSY in

India Railways also. Even today, some parts of the country are not connected by rail network. As far as railway line between Bengaluru and Mangaluru is concerned the people of my constituency are eagerly expecting the good news for passengers travelling between Bengaluru and Mangaluru by train. A new railway line between the two cities via Shravanabelagola and Hassan getting almost readied. All it needs is clearance from the Commissioner of Rail Safety.

SHRI RAJESH PANDEY: Railways is the life line of a country. Our railways is the largest rail network in the world. I would like to congratulate the hon. Union Railway Minister as well as hon. Minister of State that they have created a Rashtriya Samrakshan Kosh with a corpus of rupees one lakh crore for strengthening safety in the rail network which will ensure safety aspect of the railways. Kushinagar is an important district. After independence, there has been a popular demand that keeping in view the tourism potential, connectivity should be strengthened. I would like to thank hon. Minister of State for Railways for sanctioning an amount of Rs. 1345 crore in the rail budget for connecting

Kushinagar with Gorakhpur upto Patrauna. Besides, there has also been a demand that Chitauni is also an important station which should be connected with Tamkuhi railway track. The government has provided for Rs. 245 crore for this work in the rail budget. A railway track from Dhugli to Khugli via Maharajganj has also been sanctioned for which we are ever thankful. A train should be introduced between

Kushinagar and Patrauni so as to facilitate the local people. In many towns, people have settled in large numbers in an around railway crossings but when the roads get dilapidated there and some departments intend to get them repaired but it is not possible for the want to permission of the railways. I demand that a policy change should be effected so as to facilitate provision of NOCs in such cases. The RPF does not have the powers in commensuration with their duties and responsibilities.

Therefore, they should be given adequate powers in proportion of their responsibilities. Some DEMU trains have been given for our regions but they are old ones and I demand that new rakes of such trains should be given.

DR. BHARTIBEN D. SHYAL: There has been unprecedented provision of

Rs. 1.31 lakh crore for capital expenditure of the Railways in the General Budget.

Unmanned railway crossings are proposed to be phased out. Provision of Clean My

Coach and Coach Mitra facility has been started for the passengers. More than 500 railway stations are proposed to be made disabled friendly. A new train between

Bhavnagar and Surat and another train between and Haridwar should be introduced. A number of over bridges and under bridges are required to be built in

Bhavnagar Division to improve the traffic problem.

SHRI NEIPHIU RIO: I whole-heartedly welcome the historic budget. The allocation for the North-Eastern region has been encouraging. It has been increased to around Rs. 69029.89 crore. The work on the Dimapur-Kohima line, the 88 km stretch, has just began but it has not been connected to the capital city Kohima. It is short by another 18 km. This should be immediately surveyed and taken up on urgent basis. Guwahati-Dimapur is the second highest revenue earning station in the North-Eastern region. It needs huge expansion and I hope the railway ministry will take these into consideration. Regarding BG line connecting Tuli and Tuli Town where huge operation of coal is going on, I believe that it has been shelved saying that it is not economically viable. Why should the government look into the viability aspect? I think this should be taken up on an urgent manner. As regards Amguri and Nagimimora and Furkating Baggey

Valley, the work should be taken up on priority. The proposed Trans Asian Rail

Network should not be abandoned. It is actually planned from Dimapur-Kohima,

Senapati-Imphal and Moreh to South East Asia. The present work from Jiriram to

Tupul and then to Imphal is going on in a very aggressive manner but the original plan should not be abandoned. Work should go on where the habitation is there so that benefits can reach the people. I hope with the increase of the budget allocation, the railway network will be expanded to cover the difficult areas including my State, Nagaland.

SHRI SANJAY KAKA PATIL: With the merger of Railway Budget with the General Budget, the Railways would not have to give annual dividend, which would accelerate the speed of development of the Railways. Railways should give more focus on safety alongwith increasing the average speed of the trains. A number of projects of Maharashtra has been incorporated in the budget with includes electrification work of to Pune and construction of ROB in my parliamentary constituency. A number of railway stations in Maharashtra are required to be included Smart Stations Scheme.

DR. BANSHILAL MAHATO: The Railway Budget has been for the first time merged with the General Budget in the history of 93 years which is a good concept. The then Atal Bihari Vajpayee government had given to our area the

Bilaspur railway zone without any public agitation. An intercity express was being plied from Korba to the capital but it has been discontinued just after three months.

This should be resumed. Shrinath Express plies from Korba to but on return it terminates at Bilaspur which should be extended to Korba. There is a place called Urga on the Bilaspur-Hati route which connects Jharkhand and

Chhattisgarh and there is a urgent need for construction of an overbridge there.

Similarly, an overbridge needs to be constructed in between Saragundiya station.

FOBs needs to be constructed on all the stations. In my parliamentary constituency, a survey has been completed from Nagpur halt to Chirmiri and it should be commenced. Jabalpur-Ambikapur express should be plied all seven days.

SHRI RAVINDRA KUMAR PANDEY: There will be benefit of synergy for the Indian Railways with the integration of Railway Budget with the General Budget. There has been increase in the gauge conversion work and effective steps have been taken for the safety of the people by phasing out unmanned railway crossings completely. Required investment has been made in a number of fields including capital expenditure and construction of new railway lines. New trains from Barkakana to New Delhi via , superfast train between Dhanbad and

New Delhi, Jan Shatabdi or EMU train between Giridih and Ranchi via Madhupur should be introduced. Stoppage of Howrah Gandhidham Express at Parasnath

Railway Station, Tata Amritsar Express, Darbhanga Secunderabad Express,

Dhanbad Bhubaneshwar at Telo Railway Station and

Santragachi-Anand Vihar Express, -Kanan Express at Khanudih station should be given.

SHRI N.K.PREMACHANDRAN: Indian Railways is a unique integrator of modern India. The NDA Government has decided to abandon the Railway

Budget and to merge the Railway Budget with the General Budget. According to me, the merger of Railway Budget with General Budget is in the violation of the

Constituent Assembly Resolution of 1949. I would also like to know from the hon.

Railway Minister the fate of the Railway Convention Committee. This is a point of order also. So, I would like to seek a ruling from the Chair in this respect.

There is a decline of Rs. 12,000 crore of the gross traffic revenue this year. How is the Government able to achieve Rs. 16,843 crore in excess when compared to the last year? So, it is not a realistic assessment as far as the passenger and freight traffic are concerned. Coming to the operating ratio, I would like to say that the current operating ratio is 94.9 per cent in 2016-17. It shows that the Railway is losing both passenger and freight volumes as has been witnessed in traffic receipt from April-December, 2016. In the next year also, the operating ratio is being fixed at 94.6 per cent. So, the fiscal performance of Indian Railway both in freight traffic as well as passenger traffic has to be improved. A very good performance is being made on the expenditure side. The Railways have accelerated spending by over 28 per cent from April-December, 2016 on infrastructure projects. The total capital and development expenditure has been increased to Rs. 1,31,000 crore for passenger safety. A Rashtriya Samrakshan Kosh will be created with a corpus fund of Rs. 1,00,000 crore over a period of five years. I would like to seek certain clarifications from the Minister. When the Railway Budget was presented in 2015-

16, the Railway Minister had announced a five year planned development of Indian

Railways which required Rs. 8.5 lakh crore. This is the end of the third financial year. So, I would like to know from the hon. Minister as to how much he has mobilised out of Rs. 8.5 lakh crore. I would also like to ask as to how he would be able to achieve the goal of commissioning 3,500 kms. of new lines with this meagre allocation of Rs. 11,532 crore which is less than that of 2016-17. The allocation has to be increased for the construction of new lines. This is my suggestion. Similarly, in the gauge conversion as well as doubling of lines, the plan outlay for 2017-18 is less than that of the Budget Estimate of 2016-17. But at the same time, I do appreciate the hon. Minister in having excess allocation in case of

ROBs, RUBs signaling telecommunication and related infrastructural areas. There is a need to improve the efficiency of the Indian Railways by reducing the operating ratio. The resources of profit making public sector units may be utilized for enhancing the capacity of the Indian Railways and the commercial utilization of the surplus land of the Indian Railways ha to be made. I would give my thanks to the hon. Minister for completing the Sengottai-Punalur Region, which was pending over the last 16 years. Train service from to Sengottai, to Madurai and to Chennai should be started. It is a very good tourism and pilgrim centre. So, the tourism train service should be started in this area also. I would also like to appeal to the hon. Minister to upgrade the Kollam railway station as an international model standard railway station. More than 40 lakh Kerala people are employed in the Bhilai Steel Plants and other establishments in . I am seeking a new express train service from Chhattisgarh to Trivandrum or Cochin so that these people are benefited.

SHRI DHARMENDRA KUMAR: I support the Demand for Grants of the

Department of Railways. I request to include the following works of my parliamentary constituency, Aonla in the Railway Budget. ROBs at railway crossing number 252B and2A near Ramganga station on Bareilly-Agra highway and at railway crossing number 352C situated in Pitambarpur Nagar should be constructed. A new railway line form Badaun to Shahjahanpur via Dataganj should be laid. Stoppage of Train No.14369 Up and 14370 Dn, 13005 up and 13006 Dn at

Bilpur station and stoppage of Train No. 12237/38 Banaras Jammu Tawi at

Bareilly Junction should be given.

SHRI BHAIRON PRASAD MISHRA: Merger of Rail Budget and

General Budget is a historical step and we welcome it. Service Charge on e-tickets has been discontinued and a special safety funds has been created with a corpus of

Rs. One lakh crore. There are instances of water logging under some under bridges. Measures should be taken to ensure that there is no water logging under these bridges. In my constituency, survey was conducted in British times for a line

Fatehpur, Baberu, Atra, Naraini, Kalinjar to Satna but there has been no work on the ground till now. I demand that a survey be conducted and the rail line constructed. Sarayu Express coming from Ayodhya stays at Allahabad. It should be extended upto Chitrakoot. A DMU train should be introduced between Maihar and Chitrakoot Dham. In the last year's Budget, funds were allocated for doubling and electrification of Jhansi-Manikpur and Khairat-Kanpur sections. These works should be completed at the earliest. SHRI SHRIRANG APPA BARNE: My Parliamentary Constituency falls in Raigarh and Pune districts in Maharashtra. This is an area adjacent to Mumbai.

Mumbai Sub-urban train service caters to this area. About one lakh passengers travel from to Mumbai every day but there are many stations which lack amenities. I request for providing these amenities especially at Panvel and

Kharghar stations. A third track was announced between Lonawala and Pune in the last year's Budget but the work is yet to start. There is a lot of encroachment on

Railway land. The work of third track will take place only when the encroachment is removed. There is a need to install lifts at many railway stations. A new railway line between Pune and Nasik was announced but the Railways has not initiated even the process of acquisition of land. If Pimpri and Hinjwadi are linked with

Konkan rail line, the people of Western Maharashtra will be able to avail the services of Konkan Railway. A mini train used to operate between Lonawala and

Matheran which has been discontinued for several years. I request the Government to restore this train service.

SHRI KAPIL MORESHWAR PATIL: Thousands of traders frequently visit my constituency Bhivandi from Mumbai and other cities in connection with trade. But there are no rail facilities. A direct local train service should be introduced from Mumbai to Bhivandi so that people of the this area may not face inconveniences and it will promote trade as well. Murbad tehsil in my constituency is 15 kms from Titwala of Central Railway and it is just 25 kms away from Kalyan.

The only mode of transport for export and import of this area is private roadways. I request the government to lay a new railway line from Kalyan-Titwala to Mumbai.

A railway station is urgently needed to be constructed in Chikhloli also. There was a Hakank bridge at Sandhurst road near Chatrapati Sivaji Terminal Station. Since it was outdated, it was demolished. A new rail bridge should be made there at the earliest. Local trains are in operation in Mumbai. But during the rainy season many untoward incidents take place there. Trains stop amidst its route and cause inconveniences. Especially women travelers face a lot of problems. Therefore, toilet should be provided for women in coaches.

SHRI P.C. MOHAN: Bangaluru is the fastest growing city in the whole

Asia with a population of one crore. It has vehicular population of about 65 lakh and traffic congestion is terrible there. Bengaluru traffic is so much that we require suburban trains which can run on the existing railway tacks leading out of the city and nearby towns which are at a distance of 70 to 140 kilometres where metro cannot reach. The State Government is requesting the Central Government for 50-

50 per cent partnership. I request the Central Government to take up this project at

50 per cent because the same model has been given for Mumbai, Chennai and other cities. Mysore railway station is very small. Railways have to locate another railway station and develop so that more trains from Bengaluru can go. Coach yard should be set up at Byappanahalli station. From my MPLAD fund, I have already built one railway station in . I will be building another railway station by spending one core rupees keeping the suburban proposal in mind.

SHRI BHANU PRATAP SINGH VERMA: CCTV cameras should be set up in reserved coaches for ladies in view of their safety to ensure safety in trains.

My Lok Sabha constituency Jalaun-Garotha-Bhognipur is a backward and agriculture based area. It is because of there is no expansion of rail network. I request to railway ministry to start the work of laying track at the earliest. I also demand of facility of high speed free Wi-fi at Urai station and construction of Rail

Yatri Niwas, tourist help centre at Kalpi station, a first category waiting room at

Ait station and raising height of coach station.

SHRI PREM DAS RAI: I rise to support the Demands for Grants of

Railways. This is the first time, the Demands for Grants are being debated in this

Session. In 2009, for the railway line between Sivok and Rangpo, the foundation stone was laid by the then Railway Minister. It is now 2017 and little progress has been made. The hon. Railway Minister, Shri Prabhu ji had visited Sikkim and he had given us an assurance that the work would now begin in all earnest. I would like to request the Government that this particular project be taken up with all alacrity. At Sivok, on the National Highway 10, there is a manned crossing. I request the Government to construct a flyover there. In North-Eastern Frontier Railway, the quality of coaches is very deplorable. New coaches should be provided in the trains in NEFR. Recently, I had the occasion of travelling on the

Darjeeling Mail and I found that the coaches were very dirty and the food given in the train was not up to the mark.

SHRI SUNIL KUMAR SINGH: The final survey of Chatra to Gaya Rail

Line project has been completed. There is a long standing demand to lay rail track there. For the want of adequate facility of railway line this area is still underdeveloped. Therefore, new rail line should be laid there. Chatra can be connected to Shivpur and the Shivpur-Chatra missing link can be completed.

Shivpur line can be constructed with the collaboration of Coal India. Necessary steps need to be taken in this regard. Adequate budget should be allocated to complete the Chatra-Tori rail line at the earliest. Budget provision need to be raised to complete the Gaya-Daltenganj rail line project at the earliest. A rail over bridge needs to be constructed at Chandva-Dobhi route near the Tori Station because it lies on the National Highway and the route is often jammed.

SHRI SUSHIL KUMAR SINGH: In recent years the Railways has improved a lot in providing civic amenities and in overall operations. A railway line is proposed from Beheta to Aurangabad for many years and survey has also been conducted for the same. I wish that the work on this line be completed at the earliest. A rail line from Gaya to Sher Ghati via Imamganj, Dumaria and Daltonganj is proposed which will connect two states. If this line is constructed it will be a great facility to the people and facilitate development of the area. At the same time it will help tackle extremism in this area. Gaya station is of international importance. This station should be upgraded as a model station.

Stoppage of Sealdah and Howrah Duronto Express should be provided at Gaya. Ticket cancellation charge is very high. It should be reduced.

There is a need to construct ROBs at two locations - One Kilometer west of Guraru station and one kilometer west of Rafiganj station in Mughalsarai Division on

Delhi-Kolkata line.

SHRI ANURAG SINGH THAKUR: I am grateful to the Hon'ble Railway

Minister for the railway projects, which once inaugurated, would make my parliamentary constituency of Hamirpur, Himachal Pradesh, the only constituency in the State where all three districts-Una, Hamirpur and Bilaspur, would be connected by railway lines. Railway safety and the safety of the passengers travelling in trains across the country is a very important issue that affects us all. I commend the Hon'ble Railway Minister for his focus on rail safety in the present

Budget and his decision to establish a Rashtriya Rail Sanraksha Kosh with a corups of Rs. 1 lakh crores. Other initiatives of the government, such as the commitment towards eliminating all unmanned level crossing on broad gauge lines by 2020 will also go a long way in making the tracks safer. I also urge the government to consider enhancing the use of technological solutions such as the use of railways robots for inspecting tracks etc., particularly in areas where accident may be attributable to human errors.

SHRI DHARAM VIRA GANDHI: Rail Budget has been merged with

General Budget. Only time will tell as to what the long term results of this decision will be but I do not think it proper. Railway is the lifeline of the country.

Hence, we should do nothing to compromise its importance. Rajpura-Bhatinda rail line was sanctioned earlier but decision is yet to be taken whether the project will be constructed by RVNL or NRCO. This project consists of two components viz. doubling and electrification. Both the works should be given to one agency so that they do not need to coordinate with each other and the work is completed at a faster pace. Construction of -Rajpura rail link will connect the tri-city of Chandigarh with , Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan. I am grateful to the

Ministry of Railways for giving two big projects in Malwa region of Punjab.

SHRI LAKHAN LAL SAHU: I welcome the decision of merger of Rail

Budget with General Budget. The Government is paying special attention on cleanliness on trains. Bilaspur railway zone is the highest revenue earning zone in the country. Railway Tribunal should be established at Bilaspur. Bilaspur City is expanding so there is a need to develop Uslapur station also known as Bilaspur

City. Thousands of passengers travel from Jairam Nagar, Chakrabhata, Bilgahna and Pinder Road stations. There is a need to develop these stations. New trains from Bilaspur to Puri and Bilaspur to Indore should be introduced. Survey on

Dhamtari-Kanker rail line has been completed. This project should be sanctioned at the earliest.

SHRI DUSHYANT CHAUTALA: A rail line between Hisar and

Chandigarh is absolutely necessary to connect these places. This should be constructed at the earliest. A train like 'Hamsafar' should be started at the rail route from Sriganga Nagar, Sirsa, Hisar to Delhi. This entire route has been electrified.

However, one of the obstacles remain in form of Bhiwani bypass. The Ministry had sanctioned an amount of Rs.5.25 crore for the completion. I would like to the

Government to complete the project and start the rail line at the earliest. A DEMU train should be started between Hisar and Chandigarh. A washing yard at Hisar was sanctioned in the railway budget but it is yet to be completed. The

Government should ensure the completion of this washing yard and connect Hisar with the long distance trains. The survey work of Allahabad to Sirsa rail line should be completed. Gorakhdham train should be extended upto Sirsa and

Bathinda. The closure of crossings between and Juglan is causing a lot of inconvenience to the people. There is a need to make an alternative arrangement to facilitate the movement. There is always a long traffic jam on the railway crossings falling on the roads leading to Rajasthan. There is a need to construct ROBs and RUBs on them. Various long distance trains should be extended upto

Hisar.

SHRI RAM TAHAL CHAUDHARY: Along with the development of railways efforts have been made for upgrading the facilities for the rail passengers.

Ranchi is the capital of Jharkhand and its zonal headquarter lies in Hazipur, Bihar.

One has to face a lot of inconvenience as it takes years for the files to get cleared.

Therefore, there is a need to make Ranchi as the zonal headquarter by integrating four DRM offices. A coordinator should also be appointed in it. A office of

IRCTC should be set up at Ranchi. The management of Ranchi-New Delhi

Rajdhani train should be handed over to Ranchi. should be run daily. The train from Ranchi to via Hatiya should be made to ply thrice a week.

SHRI JUGAL KISHORE: I request the Hon'ble Minister of Railways that all development work related to railways should be expedited in Jammu also with regard to constructing bridge on railway crossing in Samba and Vijaypur stations.

Rail platform should be set up at Jammu Railway Station. Work should be expedited with regard to providing every rail facility to Badana Railway Station and conducting survey at Punch railway line. I also demand to provide 2 minutes' halt for Uddampur Uttar Sampark Kranti at my hometown Manbal Railway Station in Kishan Pur. SHRI C.N. JAYADEVAN: Government need to provide more capital for the Rashtriya Rail Suraksha Kosh. As far as Kerala is concerned, the allotment for the railway projects in Kerala is not satisfactory. Only a meagre fund has been sanctioned for many of the on-going projects like railway over-bridges and railway under-bridges and, at this scale, it will take years to complete these projects. An underpass at Thiruvenidam - the north side of Guruvayur Railway station should be constructed. The condition of the coaches in trains running in Kerala is very bad. The Kerala trains should be provided with coaches of better condition. The current availability of reserved seats on the Mumbai-Kerala sector is not sufficient.

So, there is a need to increase the frequency of the trains and the number of seats in the existing trains.

SHRI SHIVKUMAR UDASI: Overall, Karnataka got maximum benefit in this budget. Hon'ble Railway Minister has tried to fulfill the hopes of the people of all sections of the society. Decision to launch of high speed trains; introduction of Wi-fi services at all A class stations; really good initiatives proposed by the Minister. I respectfully extend my heartfelt thanks and appreciate the concerns of Hon'ble Railway Minister for announcing New Rail Line Gadag-

Yelvigi allocated Rs. 640crore. This is very good news for the public of my

Parliamentary Constituency. The people of my Constituency have expressed their happiness for fulfilling the long-standing demand. These new rail route would mark a golden beginning in the railway my of the State. At present, there is no

Government Railway Police (GRP) outpost at Haveri Railway Station. To enhance safety of railway commuters in the wake of increased traffic at Haveri Railway

Station, the GRP should create an outpost at Haveri rail station. Ladies Boogie should be increased in all passenger train from Hubli to Bangalore to Hubli.

SHRI BIDYUT BARAN MAHATO: For the first time in the history of the country that the merger of Union Budget with Rail Budget has taken place. The rail line from Chandil, Badam, Patomada via Vardhman and Jharegram should be extended. The rail line from Jamshedpur to Badampahar via Keojhar should be directly connected to Bhubaneswar. An ROB should be constructed at Jugshala.

A pantry car should be attached to Tata Amritsar train.

SHRI JOSE K. MANI: The facility of passenger reservation system should be restored back for both Vaikom and Koothattukulam. station is very important and prominent in terms of rail traffic, revenue and providing accessibility to passengers. should be taken up for modernization because the congestion there is very high.

DR. TAPAS MANDAL: A motorable under pass in Station under Sealdah Section is urgently required. Please look into unmanned level crossing between Ranaghat Station and Coupers Camp Halt at Panthapara which is highly accident prone. Underpass or ROB is required for Chakdaha, Birnagar, Bagula, etc. Construction of a level crossing to the Southern end of Birnagar

Railway Station or Construction of subway/underpass at the Southern end of

Birnagar Railway Station is required. One level crossing is required between

Bahirgachi and Bhayna Rly Station. Please look into the proposed Ghugia Rly. station between Chakdaha and Payradanga announced few yrs ago. The No. of local EMU trains running in Sealdah and Howrah section are not sufficient. The

No. of compartments of all local trains are also to be increased from 9 - 12.

Cleanliness is of utmost importance of all sub urban stations.

SHRI NARANBHAI KACHHADIA: The presentation of Rail Budget in merged form with the Union Budget is not only a bold but also a welcome step.

The railways have continuously stride forward on the path of progress under the leadership of hon. Prime Minister. I would like to request the hon. Minister of

Railways that all the projects should be completed on time and there should not be any shortage of funds so that the work may continue unhindered and it could be finished on time. Mahua-Surat express train should be run on the daily basis upto

Mumbai. Being the hub of diamond trade Surat is a commercial city and a large number of traders use this route. However, only the Mahua-Surat express is the only train which runs once in a week. This train should be run on the daily basis upto Mumbai. SHRIMATI VEENA DEVI: Construction of level crossing between

Budhauddin Chak-Milki village, near barh Railway Station and a foot over bridge at Ratner-Mankatta Railway Station under Distt. Patna Railway Station would be done.

Drinking water and toilet Facilities and Beautification of Barh, Punarakh,

Mar, Mokamal, Barahiya, Maukatta, Lakhisarai and Patner railway stations under

Danapur division and Purab Sarai, Ratanpur, Bariyapur, Mananpur railway station under Malda Division should be provided and stoppage of various trains at :-

Athamalgola Station, Station, Dumari half, Lakhisardi, Ratanpur, kajara and Dharhara should be provided

Expansion of the Barahia, Mor, Shivnagar, Paldarak, Mokama, Ratanpur and Bariyapur should be carried out and Safiabaad halt is very important halt and there is need to make it operational with immediate effect.

Bharat wagon and engineering corporation limited working in Mokama in should be merged with jamaalpur railway workshop and provisions should be made in rail budget for its expansion .

DR. A.SAMPATH: The mounting number of vacancies in Railways is alarming. Freight revenues should increase. The Track doubling, adequate rolling stocks, passenger amenities, more number of train services, ROBs etc. are urgent needs of the State of Kerala. A separate railway zone consisting of the divisions of Trivandrum, , Salem and a portion of Konken Railways is the need of the day. All trains starting from Kochuveli should have a stoppage either at any one among the above said 3 stations, viz, Chirayankeezhu, Kadakkavur and Varkala.

In Varkala - Sivigiri, we need an ROB instead of present day railway gate.

Rajdhani Express should be daily train. We also need a Trivandrum - Nagercoil -

Chennai - Howrah train. The prestigious K K Express should be allotted new rakes. As far as possible, catering staff should include locals also. Nemom at

Pallichal should develope as a Coaching Yard and should be developed as

Trivandrum (South) Terminal.

SHRI M. UDHAYAKUMAR: Railway Route Extension from to

Sabarimalai via Nilakottai, Vathalakundu, Periya Kulam, Theni, Cumbam &

Kumil is needed. Railway Route Extension from Dindigul to Sabarimalai via

Nilakottai, Vathalakundu, Periya Kulam, Theni, Cumbam & Kumli should be done immediately. Trichy to Dindigul II Phase Train route has to be speeded up. All the

Express & Superfast Express Trains should stop at Kodai Road junction. Introduce an Express Train from Chennai Egmore to Palani via Vilupuram, Trichy and

Dindigul. Need to build New Good Shed at Tamaraipadi so as to avoid Traffic

Congestion & Public inconvenience in Dindigul City. An Over bridge has to be build on the railway crossing of Gandhigram Rural University. Local Electric

Train has to be introduced from Dindigul to Madurai junction. Need to build Railway Gate Guard Rooms at every major crossing of the villages from Dindigul to Madurai. Kodai Road Railway Junction has to be modernized. Rebuild the over bridge at Dindigul Railway Station with Escalators. Display has to be made of the

Special Trains (TEN Exp.), etc.

SHRI RAJKUMAR SAINI: In my Lok Sabha Constituency Kurukshetra is a historical and religious place. The people of this are who want to visit hardwar, they have to go either via Ambala or via Delhi Railways promotes country's economic and cultural status. Hence, Kurukshetra and Hardwar may be connected through a new rail line.

DR. PRABHAS KUMAR SINGH: I would like to lay the following

Demands: Creation of new railway division at Jharsuguda; Creation of new railway line between Bargarh-Nuapada via Padmapur; Construction of railway overbridge at Jagannath Nagar, Barpalli; Dist. Bargarh. Modernisation/Upgradation of all the railway stations under my constituency; Extension of Puri- Intercity

Express (Train No. 18303-18304) upto Bolangir; Stoppage of Bhubaneswar-

Bolangir Intercity Express (Train No. 12893-12894) and Nagabali Express (Train

No. 18309-18310) at Attabira, Bargarh. Stoppage of Koraput Express (

Train No. 18107-19108), Shirdi Said Express (Train No. 18407-18408), Puri LTT

Express ( Train No. 12145-12146), Puri Ajmer Express, Nagabali Express at

Barpalli Station, Dist. Bargharh; Extension of Raigarh-Gondia Janasatabdi Express ( Train No. 12069 - 12070) to Jharsuguda and Bilaspur-Raigarh passenger to Sambalpur; Extension of Sambalpur-Rayagada (Train No. 18301-18302) to

Visakhapatnam; Stoppages of Puri-Haridwar Utkal Express ( Train No.

18477/18478) and Rourkela-Bhubanesar Intercity Express (Train No.

18105/18106) at Bagdihi, Jharsaguda; Stoppages of Durg- South Bihar

Express ( Train No. 13287) and Puri-Howrah ( Train No.

12130) at Belpahar, Jharsaguda; Extension of Jammu Tawi Express upto

Titlagarh; Extension of Raigarh-Gondia Jansatabdi ( Train No. 12069/70) Express to Jharsududa; Extension of Bilaspur-Raigarh passenger to Sambalpur. Running of new Rajdhani Express from Bhubanesar to New Delhi via Sambalpur. The decision of diversion of Titilagarh-Bilaspur, Bilaspur-Titilagarh passenger ( Train

No. 58213 & 58214) . Direct linkage of train from Bargarh to Delhi and Allahabad.

SHRIMATI APARUPA PODDAR: For the first time after Independence,

India has dispensed with a separate Rail Budget. Railway is the lifeline of the common citizen. However, the cleanliness of the train is very bad; toilets are very dirty. railway station and railway station need to be upgraded. I urge the Railway Minister to expedite the projects and allot sufficient funds. I would also request the hon. Minister to start the work of ROB at

Kamarkundu railway station and expedite the project. There is also demand for a sub-way at Chandanpur railway station which is the need of the hour for the farmers and people residing there.

SHRI KANTI LAL BHURIA: The Government has a hidden agenda of increasing the rail fare. Whatever hike needs to be done should be reflected in the

Budget and any sort of backdoor kind of increase is nothing short of the contempt of the House. The Indian Railways will prove a great headache to the Government due to the huge losses it is likely to suffer owing to the financial mismanagement.

I would like to draw the attention of the hon. Minister towards the important rail line Ratlam, Jhabua, Alirajpur which is a tribal dominated area. Indore-,

Dhar-Chota Udaipur, Banswara-Dungarpur rail line should be constructed at the earliest.

SHRI ARJUN LAL MEENA: I would like to request honourable Minister of Railway to start a new train from Udaipur to Haridwar(U.P.). New train Puja

Express running from Ajmer to Vaishno Devi should be extended upto Udaipur city. Adequate budget should be granted for gauge conversion from Udaipur to

Ahmedabad so that this work can be completed till 2017.

SHRI ALOK SANJAR: I would like to request that lift and escalator services should be provided at main station for physically handicapped persons.

Stoppage of and Mangla Express should be provided in Bhopal by merger of Mandideep and Raisen. Train from Habibabad to Pune should be run three days in a week.

SHRI MD. BADARUDDOZA KHAN: We had expected some new trains to be declared in this Budget but it has not been done. I request for a Rajdhani

Express train from New Delhi to Agartala up and down for better connectivity with the North-East. There is a need to improve passenger facilities like provisions of safe drinking water at Bhagawangola and railway stations in the

Sealdah section under the Eastern Railway. There is a need to construct a new railway line from Berhampur to Karimpur via Islampur, Domkal and Jalangi under the Sealdah section. There is a need to functionalize the railway bridge over river

Bhagirathi in the Sealdah section. I would request the Railway Minister to withdraw the felxi fair system applied in some premier trains. I would also request the Minister to convert train Nos. 53172 and 53181 Passenger into express trains and attach at least two air-conditioned sleeper coaches with these two trains.

There is a need to construct one underpass near Azimganj City Railway Station. I request you to expedite the work of double line from to Farakka under

Howrah section.

SHRI VARAPRASAD RAO VELAGAPALLI: There is a need for the conversion of level crossings in Sullurpeta. Similarly, in Tirupati, two subways are required. At Rayalacheruvu and Venkateswara, subways are also required. People of Andhra Pradesh are looking forward to the hon. Minister of Railways to announce a special railway zone in Vizag. GT Express Train may be allowed to stop at Sullurpeta. An may be constructed at Renigunta.

The work relating to metro rails at Vizag, Guntur and Vijayawada be started at an earlier date.

SHRI ADHIR RANJAN CHOUDHARY: A number of projects were announced earlier for Bengal. Whether the funds have been allocated for them ? I would request to establish a rail coach factory at least for Bengal and North East

India. No action has been taken till now for setting up of trolly car factory in district Murshidabad. The people of Bengal feel that they are being discriminated by Railway Ministry. Manoj ji, whether there is a need to continue the Railway convention Committee or not because at present there is no way to disburse dividend. Secondly, freight earning is reducing constantly, Pension fund is in pitiable condition, vacancies are not being filled up which endangers safety. Most of the accidents take place due to derailment. Please pay attention to it.

SHRI RAVINDRA KUMAR PANDEY: I stand to support the Demands for Grants for railways in the budget of 2017-18. There is need to complete the construction work of overbridge at Gomo in my Constituency which is pending over three years and also start new train between Bankana and New Delhi via

Gomo alongwith extending the rail line from Parasnath to Madhupur. Since Madhuban, Parasnath is a very popular pilgrim centre for the people belonging to

Jain Community. There is need to provide stoppage to the trains passing through and ensure better rail connectivity here.

SHRI RAM MOHAN NAIDU KINJARAPU: I demand that a Railway zone may be set up in Andhra-Pradesh at the earliest the headquarter of which should be in Visakhapatnam. Infrastructure, land and other facilities are there for the new railway zone. I demand that a new direct train may be introduced from

Visakhapatnam to Kashi via Vijaynagaram, Srikakulam.

SHRI NAGENDRA KUMAR PRADHAN: There is need to extend

Jammu-Tawi Express via Roukela up to Titlagarh and Delhi - Raigarh Express train to Sambalpur. Further there is also aneed to start a new Rajdhani Express from Bhubneswar to Delhi via Sambalpur. While passing through Sambalpur, a stretch of 182 Kilometers will be covered and the people of Odisha will be able to reach Delhi four to five hours early.

SHRIMATI PRATIMA MONDAL: Under modernisation of Railways we are incorporating systems like anti-collision devices, train inter-locking system etc.

I would like to know from the hon. Minister of Railways whether these devices are being adequately tested before they are installed. The other point is that passenger safety is a big challenge for Indian Railways. With a view to protecting the passengers from crimes like theft, burglary, eve-teasing and molestation, I would like to request the hon. Minister for installation of CCTV camera in the coaches.

Action on Canning-Bhangankhali and Jayanagar to Moipeeth projects may be taken at the earliest.

SHRI SHAILESH KUMAR: Bihar is an important place. The foundation stone for Railway Divisional Office was laid in the year 2008 but no work has been done in this regard. Firstly, I demand that a Rail Divisional office should be set up in Bhagalpur. Secondly, the unutilised land in Lakhtipur-Mahadevpur Ghat should be transferred to the Government of Bihar so that it could undertake all the concerned works. Thirdly, rail link should be constructed in Lelakh whether through ROB or RUB.

SHRIMATI POONAMBEN MAADAM: I congratulate the Government's decision to merge the Railway budget with the General budget and it will help the

Railways get rid of the annual dividend they had to pay for gross budgetary support from the government every year. This budget will have long-term positive impact on the national economy by effective execution, enhanced capital investment and infusion of technology along with IT, in the Railways.

If Shatabdi Express between Ahmedabad and Dwarka is introduced, the journey period can be reduced to half and it will be a major boost in connectivity between the Industrial hubs in Gujarat (Jamnagar and Rajkot), and of Ahmedabad.

I sincerely thank the Minister of Railways for inaugurating and dedicating to the nation the Okha-Kanalus and Porbandar-Wansjaliya sections in Gujarat of Western

Railways as Green Corridor Sections. All three wings of the Armed Forces i.e.

Indian Army, Indian Air Force and Indian Navy have units/establishments in

Jamnagar. A high speed train in line with Ahmedabad would provide a major respite to the men in uniform. Also, a direct train between Rajkot and Okha will benefit people of the constituency. It would be good if electrification and doubling of tracks is prioritised for all the existing routes of my constituency.

I request the Hon'ble Minister to take necessary steps to modernise Jamnagar railway station, construct a railway over-bridge near the entrance of Hapa Railway station and expedite the work of second platform at Khambaliya station.

SHRI RAMDAS C. TADAS: My demand is that, a new train should be started from Sevagram station to Mumbai and Pune. Construction of roofs should be done at Platform nos. 1, 2, 3, 4 at Vardha station; Platform nos. 2, 3, 4 at

Sevagram station and platform nos. 1 and 2 at Chandur station. A foot overbridge should be constructed at Vardha station. Ramps should be constructed for senior citizens, disabled persons and patients at Sevagram, Hinganghat and Dhamangaon stations. Arrangement for toilets, bathrooms and drinking water should be made at

Chandur, Dhamangaon, Varod and stations. The electrification works should be expedited on Narkhed-Amravati railway line. Stoppages of Nagpur-

Amravati Intercity Express and Jabalpur-Amravati Express at Chandur, of Navjivan Express at , of Yashwantpur-Indore-Yashwantpur Express and

Jaipur-Secunderabad-Jaipur Express at Morshi and Varud stations, should be given.

DR. KIRIT P. SOLANKI: My demand is that if 65 kilometer railway route is developed by connecting Chansama to Radhanpur via Harij, it will open a new route for Kutchh. An elevated track should be constructed for the proposed

Ahmedabad-Mumbai bullet train. Sabarmati and Maninagar railway station should be urgently developed as terminal station for running long distance trains. New trains should be started from Patan and Ahmedabad to Mumbai, Ahmedabad to

Ramdevra and Ahmedabad to Shirdi. A Shatabdi train should be started from

Ahmedabad, Rajkot to Jamnagar.

SHRI SUMEDHANAND SARSWATI: A daily night train from Sikar to

Delhi via Loharu should be introduced. Two daily trains between Rewari and Sikar should be started. A train each should be introduced for Churu to Sikar and Sikar to Bikaner via Churu. Trains for Shri Ganga Nagar and Howrah from Sikar should be introduced. A daily morning train from Ajmer to Delhi via Fulera and Rigas and a train from Fulera to Rewari during day time should be introduced. Ranauli,

Bawadi and Kayamsar stations should be made IInd grade station. Two foot overbridges should be constructed at Lakshmangarh railway station. A Railway

Service Station should be set up at Sikar. SHRI DILIPKUMAR MANSUKHLAL GANDHI: The land acquisition work should be done on priority basis by the Ministry of Railways to connect

Ahmadnagar and Pune with rail network. Work on Ahmadnagar-Beed-Parli rail route is progressing at tardy pace. There is a huge pile of soil near Mandwe village due to excavation by railways therefore an overbridge should be constructed for commutation of local people.

SHRI RAHUL SHEWALE: I thank the Government that there is no hike in the Railway fare. So, Non-fare revenue should be increased. Central Railway can start Railway Advertising Network. This can easily fetch annual revenues of over Rs.100 cr. CST, LTT, Dader, Kalyan station can have Kiosks helping passengers with hotel booking. A travellater (a flat escalator) should be provided between Kurla station and LTT terminus and Bandra station and BDTS Bandra

Terminus. Retired railway staff can be given commission for selling the pre-paid

ATVM cards. Mumbai has registered approximately over 3000 deaths in 2016.

Necessary steps should be taken for the safety of commuters. Separate rule should be framed for .

KUNWAR PUSHPENDRA SINGH CHANDEL: Special steps should be taken for the improvement and development in local network by rail transport in

Bundelkhand including my constituency Hamirpur (Uttar Pradesh). Work for

Mahoba to Urai via Charkhari Raath should be completed. A new train from Ayodhya to Ujjain via Lucknow, Kanpur, Sumerpur, Mahoba, Banda, Khajuraho,

Bhopal should be started. Basic infrastructure should be developed in Mahoba,

Kabrai, Sumerpur, Kulpahad, Belatal station in my constituency and Mahoba should be equipped with world class facilities. All of the curvy RUBs under North

Central Railway (NCR). Should be straightened Stoppage of UP should be provided at Belatal and Kadaundh. An inter-city express should be started from Mahoba to Delhi.

SHRI SAUMITRA KHAN: I demand that Bankura to Rail line should be constructed. The rail line to Bishanupur Tarkeshwar should be completed at the earliest. The rail line from Bankura to Siyarabazar should be doubled.

SHRI ASHWINI KUMAR CHOUBEY: Station should be developed as ideal Station. The picture of maharishi Viswamitra with Bhagwan

Ram Durbar should be painted at all railway Station. All Rajdhani Express alongwith Patna Rajdhani, , Seemanchal Express, Archana

Express, Sampurnakranti Express should halted at Buxar Station. A crossing should be constructed in Punia, Govinapur in Buxar. ,

Tata-Patna Durg Express should be extended till Buxar. The work of Rail overbridge at Dumranv Station should be started at the earliest. Halt of

Sanghamitra Express Lokmanya Tilak Purva Express, Patna--Kota Express should be ensured at Dumranv Station in public interest. Raghunathpur

Station should be modernized. Mahabodhi Express should have halt at Karmnasha and a Footover bridge should be constructed at Durgawati. A road overbridge should be constructed at Chihriya in Durgawati. New rail lines should be extended till Maa Mundeshwai Dham (Kaimur) via Arra Dinara and from Buxar via

Ramgarh till Maa Mundeshwari Dham (Kaimur) alongwith the new rail line till

Dihri from Fefna-Baliya Junction (UP). Bhagalpur Station should be developed as ideal station. Guwahati Rajdhani Express should go Via Bhagalpur. A superfast train should be started from Bhagalpur to Chennai via Bangalore.

SHRI K. C. VENUGOPAL: I seek a clarification from the hon. Minister regarding the existence of the Railway Convention Committee. A number of

Members have raised the matter of safety. I do share concern. A lot of railway accidents have been taking place. The hon. Finance Minister has allocated Rs. 1 lakh crore for railway safety measures, but for five years. Railway safety should be given top priority. We cannot wait for five years because in my constituency itself, there was a derailment three months back. So, my request to the hon.

Minister is that sufficient funds should be provided to the Railway Ministry for railway safety aspects. There are one or two issues concerning my constituency.

In the case of Kerala, Rs. 10,020 crore has been sanctioned by the hon. Railway

Minister. Out of this amount, Rs. 410 crore is for doubling alone. I have examined the expenditure on doubling. Out of this amount only Rs. 270 crore has been spent so far, only 50 percent. The Railway Minister has not given sanction for three major doubling projects but it is stated that Kerala should share 50 percent of the doubling projects. But this is a Budget project and they are not in a position to this 50 percent. There is a train between Ernakulam and Pune.

Trivandrum Railway Division has already recommended that it should be extended to Trivandrum. Therefore, I would urge that the same should be examined and necessary funds should be sanctioned. Almost every Member spoke about cleanliness. There should be a major initiative in cleanliness and safety.

THE MINISTER OF RAILWAYS (SHRI SURESH PRABHU) replying said: First of all I would like to thank all the members for giving excellent suggestions. Today, the problems being faced by us are persisting because of our failure to pay attention to them for such a long time. The previous rail budget was the last independent rail budget. We have been working to resolve our chronic problems. Now I would like to mention about the structural changes we are adopting in order to address those issues. We have decided to address the issues, not to push below the carpet or not to do something which will draw applause for the time being but will create a long term problem for the railways. Now I would like to mention about our historical record of investment in railways. In the year

1999 we used to invest close to two per cent in railways while it was 4.2 per cent in road sector. This reduced to 1.5 per cent for railways and increased upto 6 per cent for the road sector in the year 2013-14. To change this trend we have decided to make heavy investment into railways and we have set a target of investing

Rs.8.5 lakh crore during the next five years. Initially, our capex used to be around

Rs.40-45000 crores which went upto Rs.1.11 lakh crores during the last year and further increased to 1.21 lakh crores in the current year's budget. We are certainly going to see the benefits accruing to us in the forth-coming days. Today, 16 per cent of the railway network handles 60 per cent of the rail traffic. Therefore, we have decided for the doubling and tripling of the busy network. We are going to commission a rail line of 2800 kms in the current year and we have set a target of

3500 kms for the year 2017-18. In total we are going to do doubling and tripling work upto a length of 12700 kms starting from the year 2015 upto the next few years. Similarly, we completed electrification of 2000 kms of rail length in the year 2016-17 while it is proposed that 4000 kms of railway track will electrified in the year 2017-18. We have also set a target of electrifying double the length of rail tracks electrified so far in the next five years. It will result into faster trains.

Similarly, as far as broad-gauge connectivity is concerned we have set a target to bring all the rail network under the broad-gauge connectivity. A mention about the dedicated freight corridor was also made. We have decided to invest Rs. 1 lakh crore upto to the year 2019. The pace of work of these corridors had been progressing at a very slow pace. I am very happy to inform that we have been able to award more contracts during our tenure than what had been awarded during the last 7 years. We have also made substantive provisions for the Mumbai Urban

Transportation Project. We have also started three new dedicated freight corridors apart from the existing Eastern and Western Dedicated Freight Corridors. Freight is one of issues that was raised by the Members and it is true that we have a problem in freight movement. What is the reason? For the last two years, the growth of the core sector has not been as good as it should have been. As a result of which, we have been seeing a decline in the quantity of freight being carried. I would be very happy again to table many initiatives which have been taken in freight sector. These freight changes , I am sure will result into significant improvement in the next few years. In regard to passenger traffic, from 2012-13, we have been witnessing a negative growth rate. We have taken a number of initiatives to reverse this trend. It is also important to make sure that the railways profitability improves. So, we have taken a number of measures. One of them is to reduce the expenditure. We have prepared a plan of reducing the energy bill by almost Rs.41000 crore in the next ten years for which a concrete action plan has been prepared. On the other hand, we have started a new Directorate called Non-

Fare Revenue Directorate. We have been able to increase the non-fare revenue significantly and I am very confident that this will significantly contribute to increase the rail revenue which will mean that on one hand we will reduce the cost and on the other, w will increase the revenue from non-fare revenue in addition getting revenue from normal sources. We have started 100 per cent e- procurement. Accounting reforms have been initiated for the first time. Station redevelopment is a major programme in which we are trying to work on raising not only the non-fare revenue but also offer a better customer experience. Safety has been one of the major issues and that is why I have mentioned it as one of our priority areas. We have created a safety fund of Rs.1 lakh crore. This particular safety fund will not only increased the safety but also improve the overall performance. We will be able to achieve the targets only when we have got a clear vision. We will make sure to prepare a railway which will be world class, which will cater to the demands of the people, will be technologically advanced, will be efficient and safe and which will provide all the amenities that the customer need.

All the cut motions moved were negatived.

All the Demands for Grants were voted in full.

UNION BUDGET - 2017-2018

DEMANDS FOR GRANTS - 2017-2018

Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare

SHRI KODIKUNNIL SURESH initiating said:. Now the government is saying the income of the farmers will be doubled in the next five years. When there is no measurement of current income levels of farmers, how will they measure whether the income doubled or not? The demonetisation has totally crippled the cooperative sector of India. The credit flows of farmers done through these cooperatives were affected badly. 60 per cent of the net sown area is rainfed.

There is no irrigation. How will the farmer survive during the erratic monsoon?

The Government has no answer to these questions. Fair price to the products of farmers is a distant dream, and similar is the case with storage of their produces.

Storage and marketing requires urgent attention of the Government. For the storage of produces and to keep the cold storage chain across the country, the

Government should enhance the allotment significantly. Kuttanad is under my

Parliamentary Constituency, which was once the rice bowl of Kerala. The rice produced by the farmers is kept in the farm itself as there is no warehouse in the area. There is an urgent requirement to construct safe warehouses in this area to store rice. Milk and cattle rearing is an additional source of income for the farmer.

The farmers in dairy production are assisted through Milk Producers Cooperative

Societies. I would request the hon. Agriculture Minister to propose a plan to activate the existing societies and to promote more of them in uncovered areas to help the milk producers. The slow and consistent collapse of Kerala's agriculture is alarming. State Economic Survey 2014 reported that the contribution of agriculture to the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) has steadily declined from 36.8 per cent in 1980-81 to a mere 8.95 per cent in 2013-14. It is a very serious issue. Now, Kerala is under the grip of severe drought. Not only the human beings are affected but the entire flora and fauna is badly hit. The farmers are in distress. Kerala requires a special agricultural package to save the farmers and to overcome the difficult times. In 2008, Dr. M.S. Swaminathan, a prominent agriculturist, has submitted a Report to the Government of India for sustainable development of Kuttanad in Kerala and the Government had accepted it. During

2010, the Kuttanad Package was officially launched. But the implementation of programmes under the package was stopped abruptly without realizing the objectives. The Government of India is going to stop the Kuttanad package. So, the Government of Kerala and the farmers are requesting the Government of India to extend it by another five years. The entire Kuttanad area is facing the problem of the African weed. All the canals, rivers and other water bodies are covered under African weed. The farmers are not getting water to cultivate paddy. The high-level Committee that visited Kuttanad studied the problem and submitted its report to the Ministry of Agriculture.

SHRI HUKMDEO NARAYAN YADAV: Farmers are in the top priority of our government. The government is committed to double their income in next five years. Eighty per cent of population of the country has been neglected by the successive governments after Independence. But, now our government has focused its attention on them and it wants to bring happiness and prosperity in their lives. There were 71.9 per cent farmers in 1991 which has come down to 45.02 per cent in 2011. Similarly, there were 28.01 per cent agriculture labourers in 1951 and this number has increased to 54.09 per cent in 2011. That means the percentage of increase is 26.08 in terms of agricultural Labourers and percentage of decrease is 26.08 in terms of farmers. During the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government a rural foodgrain godown scheme was launched under which godowns were constructed in villages. Had this scheme been vigorously followed by the successive government then crores of million tones godown capacity would have been created in villages and the problems of storage which we are facing today would have been solved and moreover a decentralized godown system would have come into place. Now, our government is focusing on this issue. At the time of

Independence, the agriculture production in the country was 50-51 million tones which has gone up to about 272 million tones. It is our farmers who deserve complements for this. Besides, the role of our agriculture scientist have been no less praiseworthy. They have been instrumental in bringing agricultural revolution in the country. Our government has launched a scheme to develop the Indian breed of cows. Had this been done earlier then it would have brought in a different agriculture revolution in the country thereby bringing happiness to farmers families. But this was not done. There are about 648 Krishi Vigyan Kendra in our country but these Kendras were not strengthened in the past. Now, our government has proposed to set up labs in these Kendras for soil testing. And youths who are engaged in agriculture would be imparted training about traditional farming, techniques involved in it and other things and thereby honing their skills for agricultural activity and this would also tide over the problem of youth who are not interested in agriculture.

DR. J. JAYAVARDHAN: The Government of Tamil Nadu had submitted a detailed Memorandum seeking assistance from the National Disaster Response

Fund and from other Central Funds towards the cost of relief and rehabilitation measures for the prevailing drought situation in the State. The drought situation in

Tamil Nadu, due to failed North-East monsoon, has been exacerbated by the non- release of water by Karnataka in accordance with the final order of the Cauvery

Water Disputes Tribunal. Hence, an immediate sanction for the release of an 'on account' payment of Rs. 2,500 crore from the NDRF to the Government of Tamil

Nadu to enable taking relief and rehabilitation measures to mitigate the drought situation. Under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), suitable instructions must be given to the Department of Financial Services to instruct three insurance companies to release insurance compensation claims of the rabi crops of

2015-16 to farmers of Tamil Nadu by April, 2017. Under the Foot and Mouth

Disease Control Programme and Livestock Health Schemes, the Ministry of Agriculture must release the balance amount of Rs. 34.05 crore of the Central share to Tamil Nadu at the earliest. National Horticulture Mission is being implemented only in 22 districts. It may be extended to remaining nine districts. The

Government of India should implement interlinking of the Mahanadhi-Godavari-

Krishna-Pennar-Palar-Cauvery-Vaigai river. A comprehensive special package for diversification of fisheries is required. Hence, it is requested that the comprehensive Special Package for diversification of fisheries, which totals up to

Rs. 1,650 crore with a recurring component of Rs. 10 crore may be approved at the earliest. With respect to National Fishermen Savings-cum-Relief Scheme for

Tamil Nadu, a total amount of Rs. 42.93 crore of the Central share is due to the

Government of Tamil Nadu from the Government of India. Hence, the pending

Central share should be released immediately.

DR. TAPAS MANDAL: Slow agricultural growth is a concern for policymakers as some two-thirds of India's people depend on rural employment for living. Current agricultural practices are neither economically nor environmentally sustainable and India's yields for many agricultural commodities are low. Farmers' access to markets is hampered by poor roads, rudimentary market infrastructure, and excessive regulation. Farmer suicides account for 11.2 per cent of all suicides in India. It is alarming that the average monthly income per farmer household is quite less considering minimum living standard. About 40 per cent of the farming community is on the verge of leaving agriculture as their profession due to huge loss in farming practice. The young generation is not interested in farming anymore. The root cause of the crisis was that agriculture is no more a profitable economic activity when compared to other enterprises. Therefore, unless agriculture is made a profitable enterprise, the present crisis cannot be solved. The government should allocated appropriate funds in agriculture following SC/ST sub-plans, not through SC/ST welfare schemes. We have a legitimate demand for setting up of a Central agriculture university in West Bengal. In some of agricultural and horticultural produce, West Bengal is playing a leading role in the country. Central horticulture university is also a demand of our Government.

West Bengal has very few ICAR institutes. We need more institutes and sub- centres to be set up in the State of West Bengal like CRIDA, IIHR, IIVR, RRI, etc.

I hope that the hon. Minister will consider these aspects in his next budget.

SHRI NAGENDRA KUMAR PRADHAN: The Government of India is taking several steps to improve the condition of farmers as well as agriculture production in the country. I will just mention about a few of these steps whether they have been fruitful or not. Let us first take irrigation. As per the report of the

Government, 51 per cent of the agricultural land in India depends upon various modes of irrigation while the rest depends upon rain. There are many major irrigation projects and I would like to refer to one such major project, which is called Rengali Irrigation Project in my State of Odisha. The work on this project was started in 1978. This project has not yet been completed. The initial cost of this project was estimated to be Rs. 9600 crore. It has now escalated and an amount of Rs. 3000 crore is still required to get the project completed. So, I want to know from the hon. Minister as to what measures the Government is going to take to complete the long pending irrigation project in my State of Odisha. As for crop insurance, the poor farmers has to visit the offices of insurance companies in district headquarters. The Government should provide a mechanism so that the agents of companies approached the poor farmers. I would request the

Government to consider if fishery is also given an equal status like agriculture.

India has now become the world's biggest dairy industry. In dairy production the participation of women and self-help groups is almost 78 percent. The remaining part is contributed by small and marginal farmers only. I would like to know from the hon. Minister whether there will be any mechanism to promote other persons, like marginal farmers and other sections, so that the production can be enhanced.

Finally, I come to the issue of distressed sale. When the farmer is producing a number of items, many items, why should he have to go for distressed sale? I would request the hon. Minister to consider this aspect also.

SHRI ARVIND SAWANT: The farmers of our country particularly that of

Vidarbha and region are committing suicides. This figure has crossed 8000 mark. More than 117 farmers committed suicides last month alone. Farmers are leaving agriculture and migrating to cities in search of jobs. The main reason of this is that they do not have assured income from agriculture. Farmers are totally dependent on nature for agriculture. At times they have to face the problem of excessive rains and drought situation which cause enormous damage to their crops. The climate change is also wrecking havoc on agriculture. Though the use of fertilizers increases the production the fertility of land gradually declines. The works should also be carried out in agriculture sector under the MNREGA. Now, the government is bringing in the GST Bill. What impact it would have on farmers. Whether this would also be applicable to their produce. We should promote traditional farming and farmers should be given incentives for cattle rearing and at the same time there should be minimum use of fertilizers in agricultural activities. Finally, I would like to demand that the government should immediately steps to prevent the suicides of farmer. To this end, their agricultural loans should be waived off.

SHRI N. KRISTAPPA: The Government envisages doubling the agricultural income in next five years. But they should explain how they are going to double agricultural income in next five years. Our youth is interested to work for meager income in urban areas and are not showing any interest to work in the field of agriculture. The Government should look into the matter as to why agriculture is losing its appeal. Due to various reasons we are not getting good productivity in agriculture. Inconsistent weather is one of the major reasons for less productivity in agriculture. Drought is another major problem in our country and Government should come out with a plan to inter-link rivers. We should explore methods of cultivation in drought hit areas. The Government is coming up with many sops for farmers. Government should bring policies which would fully compensate farmers for their losses. Insurance policies should be different for different regions. Loan waiver should be implemented throughout the country to protect our farming community. In our country, we provide irrigation facilities for

35% of land whereas 65% of our irrigation is rain fed. We should seriously think about inter-linking of rivers.

SHRI SANJAY DHOTRE: The two-third population of the country is dependent on agriculture. Keeping this in view the government has given utmost emphasis on rural development. The insurance amount given under the Pradhan

Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana has been increased from 60 per cent to 70 per cent but I demand that it should be increased to 80 per cent. The local administration should be given strict instructions for proper implementation of the Crop Insurance

Scheme. The production is increasing following the steps taken by the government but at times the prices of farmers produce get a severe beating due to bumper crops. They do not get even the cost of their produce sometime. The Government should take some necessary steps to tackle this problem. The farmers are given short-term loan upto Rs.3 lakh at the rate of interest of 4 per cent. This facility should also be extended to hitech farming, farm machinery, irrigation equipments, purchase of implement. Thus far, farmers used to suffer losses due to natural calamities, crop diseases and insects but now a new calamity has struck them and this is of wild animals. They cause huge damage to their crops. I, therefore, suggest to the government that it should erect fencing around 2000-4000 acre land taking village as a unit as the government cannot erect fencing around the fields of each and every farmer individually. It would not cost more than Rs.4000 or 5000 per acre. Besides, the Krishi Vigyan Kendras should be further strengthened and the subsidy given on fertilizers should directly be credited in farmers bank account instead of mill owners.

The discussion was not concluded.

ANOOP MISHRA Secretary General

© 2017 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 versions of Synopsis of Debates are also available at http://loksabha.nic.in.