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Home , East Coast Railway zone, Mukul Roy, Tulsi Express

______SYNOPSIS OF DEBATE ______(Proceedings other than Questions and Answers) ______Thursday, March 30, 2017/ Chaitra 09, 1939 (Saka) ______MATTERS RAISED WITH THE PERMISSION OF THE CHAIR 1. Concern over Abundance of Fake and Inferior Quality Drugs in the Market SHRI NARESH AGRAWAL: Even today, 50 percent population of the country depends on quacks. The biggest problem in this country is related to fake, sub-standard and expiry date medicines. Many of the medicines were found fake when their samples were tested by the Government. In the villages, 90 percent expiry date medicines are being sold. The Government has controlled the prices of Generic medicines but Non-Generic medicines are being sold by big companies here. All foreign companies are looting the poor people of . Doctors are prescribing unnecessary medicines to the patients. The medical shops are being run in the villages without pharmacists. The Government should make a policy in this regard. (Several Hon’ble Members associated.) THE MINISTER OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE (SHRI JAGAT PRAKASH NADDA), responding to the matter, said: The is very sensitive and proactive in this regard. Its implementation is done by the states. ______This Synopsis is not an authoritative record of the proceedings of the Rajya Sabha. 344

We are giving them financial and technical support. I would like that the states should also respond accordingly. 2. Distress faced by Indian Fishermen held in Captivity by Pakistan SHRI AHMED PATEL: I would like to draw the attention of Central Government and this House towards the problems being faced by Indian fishermen. The Maritime Security Agency of Pakistan and Sri Lanka are capturing our fishermen and keeping them in jails for years together. The Government should think over this issue and take immediate action to get those fishermen and their boats released. After getting their boats released, a package should be given for the damaged boats whereby they could get loans and subsidy. (Shri Vishambhar Prasad Nishad and Shri Narendra Budania associated.) THE MINISTER OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS (SHRIMATI ), responding to the matter, said: I had given a written statement with regard to Sri Lanka and Pakistan both here. Whatever time the House want to fix, I would give clarifications. The statement has already been given in this House on behalf of the Government on this matter. 3. Concern over Suicide by Farmers in Gujarat SHRI MADHUSUDAN MISTRY: I wish to draw the attention of the Government towards the suicides by farmers in Gujarat. During the period of five years from 2012 to 2016, many farmers have committed suicide in Gujarat. In Gujarat, farmers committed suicides due to loans and crop failure. Unemployment of farmers' childern was also a major reason of committing suicides. Even compensation was not given till date to the families of farmers who committed suicides. (Shri P.L. Punia and Shrimati Viplove Thakur associated.)

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4. Need to include Rajasthani language in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution SHRI NARAYAN LAL PANCHARIYA: Our Mother Language Rajasthani has not yet been included in eighth Schedule of the Constitution. Rajasthani is a rich language with its large lexicon, script and poetic and prose literature. This agony is being felt by all fellow Rajasthanis living in different states. I am of the view that, all children and adult people should study the literature in the language of their own state. Even, the people residing abroad are demanding this. Therefore, I request the Government to take necessary steps in this regard. (Shri Tiruchi Siva associated.) ______

GOVERNMENT BILL

The Mental Healthcare Bill, 2016

THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE (SHRIMATI ANUPRIYA PATEL): I move that the following amendments made by the Lok Sabha in the Mental Healthcare Bill, 2016, be taken into consideration, namely:- ENACTING FORMULA 1. That at page 1, , for the word "Sixty-seventh", the word "Sixty-eighth" be substituted. CLAUSE 1 2. That at page 1, line 5, for the figure "2016", the figure "2017" be substituted. 3. That at page 2, line 3, for the figure "2016", the figure "2017" be substituted.

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I also move that the amendments made by the Lok Sabha in the Bill be agreed to. The motion for consideration of the amendments was adopted. The enacting formula and Clause 1 as amended, was adopted. The Bill, as amended by the amendments agreed to, was passed.

(A) GOVERNMENT BILLS (i) The Appropriation (Railways) Bill, 2017 - Contd. (ii) The Appropriation (Railways) No.2 Bill, 2017 - Contd.

(B) Discussion on the Working of the Ministry of Railways - Contd. SMT. CHHAYA VERMA: Railway is the biggest public undertaking in the world having it's own identity and considered a major means of transport. 15 lakhs posts are lying vacant in the Railway. Around 40 thousand apprentice candidates have been provided jobs in Railway earlier. I appeal to the Government that apprentice candidates should be provided jobs under direct recruitment in Railway after scrapping the rule of 20 per cent reservation as these people hail from very poor families scoring 80-90 per cent marks in the 12th standard. Demand for allotment of 8 acres of land to the state administration under Raipur Division should be considered by the Government. Posts of loco pilots should be filled in. Elimination of railway crossings in the country would help in elimination of accidents at such crossings. Dismantling of historical railway line from Raipur to Kendri should be stopped. A new railway line should be laid in the tribal area of Chattisgarh for all round development of tribals. I request that the work on newly sanctioned rail line from Raipur via Baloda Bazar should commence without any delay.

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SHRI SHWAIT MALIK: Government have presented a magnificent Union Budget. Merging of Railway Budget with the General Budget would be beneficial to the country. Government have prepared a vision for coming 20 years. Running of bullet train with Syncon technology along with high speed trains in India is going to materialise. High speed trains would help in controlling pollution, reducing travel time, delivering efficiency and speedy progress of the country. Government also have a vision of connecting hills with sea shores. Many remedial measures have been taken to curb corruption. Even today Railway is considered to be cheapest and convenient mode of travel compared to other modes of travel. Railway have provided many facilities to the common man through technology support. Several revolutionary steps have been taken by this Government with regard to the infrastructure development in the Railways. The step taken by the Hon. Minister of Railways to use the unused land of the Railway for revenue generation through FDI etc. is a welcome step. Infrastructure development in the Railways is being done on the PPP model. It would minimize the burden of the commuters. All the trains would be fitted with Bio-toilets by the year 2020. The Make-in-India approach is being followed in almost each and every department in the Railways. Thousands of unemployed youth would get the employment through this step of the Government. I would like to congratulate the Hon. Minister of Finance and the Hon. Minister of Railways for making an allocation of rupees one lakh crore for rail safety measures. With this allocation, old technology and old coaches being used in Railways would be substituted by the latest technology and coaches. It would make the rail journey safer. Solar and wind energy is also being used in Railways with the objective of making it self-reliant. I would also like to welcome the step of merging of General Budget and the Rail Budget. The results of this step would be visible in the years to come. I am very much hopeful that like foreign countries, the Bullet-train like facilities would also be available in our country in the near future. SHRIMATI VANDANA CHAVAN: First of all I would like to congratulate the hon. Railway Minister for continuously bringing in new projects and bettering the entire system. The is 348 currently facing reduction in freight traffic and also decrease in passenger traffic. We would like to know how the hon. Minister is planning to overcome this loss. Today, the air fares are comparable or even lower to the First Class AC or Second AC rail fares. I would like to know whether the Ministry will be mobilizing resources through its precious land resources. Last year over 180 people had died in rail accidents. There have also been derailments of 62 trains in the year 2016. Most of these incidents could have been prevented if the Railways had taken adequate precautions. There is a big shortage of keymen and other signalling personnel in the Railways. I would like to know from the hon. Minister what the Railways had done regarding safety of passengers and also the steps taken by it to implement the plan of installing 35,000 CCTVs at about 1,000 railway stations. SHRI V. VIJAYASAI REDDY: I thank the hon. Minister of Railways for allotting Rs. 3,406 crores to . I would like to know from the hon. Railway Minister what is the status of Visakhapatnam to Chennai and Amravati to Bengaluru high-speed railway lines, which he had promised. I would also like to know the status of those 21 stations which are to be developed on the lines of the airports in Andhra Pradesh on SPV model. I would also like to know the status of his promise regarding setting up of two railway workshops, one at Kurnool and another at Tirupati. I would also like to about his promise regarding the re-develop the Visakhapatnam railway station. The AP Reorganisation Act mandates that the Government of India would create a new railway zone with its headquarters at Visakhapatnam. But it has not been done so far. I hope the NDA Government will adhere to the promises that have been made in the Act. I really don’t understand why MPs from the local area are not invited by the Ministries for the meetings. I request the Government to follow the precedent. SHRIMATI SAROJINI HEMBRAM: I would like to express my gratitude to the hon. Minister of Railways for making an allocation of 5102 crore rupees for in Railway Budget 2017- 18. Steps should be taken by the Government for the speedy 349 completion of Rajatgarh and Barang doubling project along with Angul-Sukinda project etc. The Jagannath Dham is the biggest tourist hub of the country. The platform therein should be extended and it should be developed as the Modern Railway Station with the world class facilities. The station at , the capital of Odisha, should also be developed as the Modern Railway Station and two additional railway stations should also be created in this city. I hail from the Mayurbhanj District which is famous for Similipal Biosphere Reserve. I would demand that work related to doubling and electrification of lines along with computerized in this area should be completed at the earliest. I would like to congratulate the hon. Minister of Railways for allocating rupees 900 crore for Badampahar to Bangriposi line. We also demand the inclusion of Mayurbhanj in the East-Coast Railway Zone because it is having its Headquarter in Bhubaneswar. SHRI SHIV PRATAP SHUKLA: Through this budget Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Railway have come to same platform. In 1924, First Railway budget was presented and due to its huge earning at that, it was decided that there should be a separate budget for Railway. In 1950, Railway had 74 percent share in transportation but today it has only 10 percent share in transportation. Rs.1.21 lakh crore has been allocated for the development of railway and it is 22 percent increase. I would like to thank to the Government that they didn't increase the fares of railway. Earlier Governments of UPA had looted the passengers. This Government have introduced the fully AC Antodya train. It is common man's Government. I would like to thank to hon. Railway Minister for making improvement in catering facilities in railway and its work has been entrusted to the IRCTC as condition was worst. The Minister of Railway should pay attention towards increasing share of Railway in transportation which is only 10 percent at present. The ministry should pay special attention towards the . Electrification work of railway is appreciable. There is a requirement of running a direct train between Gorakhpur to Puri as there is no such train from Odisha. As railway will lead towards the electrification then our environment will also improve and Ministry should pay more 350 attention in this regard. Endeavours should be made on priority basis to stop accidents. SHRI HUSAIN DALWAI: A new railway station should be constructed at Shiv Budrak between Mahad and Kher. Karad- Chiplun track should be extended upto Guhagar as there are bauxite mines so that it may be used more. Number of coaches in Shatabdi train in should be increased to reduce reservation time. Ratnagiri-Mudgaon train should be discontinued and it should start form Mumabi upto Sawantwadi. More tracks can be laid by removing encroachment from railway land in the city of . Number of Railway tracks and coaches should be increased to reduce the crowd in Mumbai. SHRI ALOK TIWARI: Merging of Railway budget with the General budget has political implications. The position of Minister of Railway has reduced. Now, Members of Parliament will continue to submit their demands before Railway Board. Railway has been completely neglected in the General budget. No roadmap has been presented in the budget for the viability of railway. Due to increase in freight charges, the share of railway has been shifted to road transport. Railway has increased the passenger fare due to steep in prices of diesel but prices of oil in the international has come down and fares has not been reduced. Charges for reservation and cancellation of tickets have been increased indiscreetly. There are number of trains which still don't have the facility of bio-toilets. I don't know that how many trains have facility of pure potable water. Railway is not paying much attention towards safety and security. Railway had made lots of development in the filed of technology then why about 46000 trains got late due to fog season during last few years. What is reason for that? As per National Crime Record Bureau almost 25,000 people get die due to rail accidents every year. Railway annually disbursed about 1.5 crores of rupees as compensation so, it means that railway declares less cases of death due to accident. Situation of catering facility is worst in railway and getting more worst day by day. Facilities in Gatiman express are decreasing gradually. Name of Naugarh station should be changed to Siddharth Nagar. 351

SHRI MUKUL ROY: Government has yet to come up with a definitive answer on how clubbing the Railway Budget with the General Budget would lead to better fiscal management. A separate rail budget had been a 92-year-old tradition and for justifiable reasons. The move to give a hasty send-off to the Railway Budget is perplexing. The question is why such a hurry to bury it? Why should there be a separate Budget for the Railways? The fact is that the Railways is indeed, unlike any other Central Ministry, huge in size and scope. It is an operational ministry; it earns as well as spends, unlike other Ministries that only spend. So, if the Railways is to be treated like other Ministries, will the Government also fund its pension liabilities? Tomorrow the Government may even recommend simply doing away with the Railway Board claiming that other infrastructure sectors do not have similar arrangements? The Budget also proposed stock market listing of railway enterprises like Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) etc. Hinting at a passenger fare hike, the Finance Minister had said that railway tariffs would be fixed taking into consideration costs, quality of service, social obligations and competition. How do we expect the common man to pay more, without any assurance of better comfort and security? We have witnessed railway accident deaths in the past but not to the extent as we are finding nowadays. The recommendations of the Anil Kakodkar Committee on Safety and on Modernization by Sam Pitroda Committee needs to be implemented, to minimize accidental deaths. Government has also talked of setting up a Rashtriya Rail Sanraksha Kosh. How does the Railways plan to mobilise resources for modernisation and safety? This Government is less than serious about the key issues of railway safety and security. SHRI K.K. RAGESH: Nowadays, many reports reveal the fact that the Government is slowly privatizing the Indian Railways by various means. A recent report shows that some of the heritage trains are going to be privatized and the adjacent lines and the railway stations are also going to be privatized. It should be objected. In the last Budget itself, the Government had declared lot many SPV projects. I would like to know from the Government as to how many of those SPV projects are being materialized. All those proposals, 352 which were declared in the last Budget, still remain on the papers. Nothing has materialized. What is the meaning of this declaration? I am very sorry to say that the Government is still continuing with its step-motherly treatment towards the State of Kerala. After the new Government came into power not a single new train is being provided to the State of Kerala. In the last Budget, no new train was declared. I demand that the Government’s step-motherly treatment needs to be changed. We have many railway stations in Kerala and they generate more than Rs. 60 crores per annum. Considering the income that is generated in my State by the Railways, no further development at these stations has taken place. That needs to be noted by the Ministry. SHRI T.K.S. ELANGOVAN: The Railways have always been incurring losses mainly because of non-completion of the various projects which the Railways normally announce in the Budget. The doubling of railway line between Chennai and Kanyakumari has been pending for more than ten years. The Railway Budget was always welcomed not only by the hon. Members of Parliament, but also by the common man. But, unfortunately, nothing was announced this year. My request to the hon. Railway Minister pertains to Chennai. We need a railway line between Chennai and Mahabalipuram. He can lay a rail-road between Chennai and Mahabalipuram. I think, there are some States, like Andhra Pradesh, which are having a separate Budget for agriculture. When Governments are trying to divide the funding pattern, here, a merger has taken place. I don’t know whether this will really help the Indian Railways or not. SHRI RIPUN BORA: Whatever Budget we fix up, whatever measures we take, all will be futile attempts if we don’t take up the safety measures. So far as safety measures are concerned, within a span of three months four accidents have taken place in which 190 people died. All these four accidents took place because of derailment. In order to make reforms in the functioning of the Indian Railways, and more particularly to curb the accidents, two Committees have been constituted. Both the Committees have identified so many reasons for these repeated accidents in the Indian Railways. One reason is that 75,000 kilometres of the railway track are old lines and 353 there is neither renovation nor replacement. In Uttar Pradesh, most of the accidents took place. 700 passenger trains ply every day in Uttar Pradesh and because of the continuous running of trains on these tracks, there is not enough time for the inspection of the tracks. This is also one of the main reasons for the accidents. There are inordinate delays in the arrival of trains. As a result, train speed is increased tremendously in order to make up the time. This is also one of the causes of accidents. The Government has compromised on the safety measures. Railways has compromised with safety measures because new advanced technologies have not been adopted to control fire in the trains. The railway safety authority should be made independent. There should be a railway regulatory authority. The railway board has to explore the use of geospatial technologies. In my state, the construction of road-cum-rail bridge connecting Dibrugarh and Brahmaputra is going on for the last 25 years and still it has not been completed. Superfast train connecting Naharlagun and Guwahati has not stoppage at Gohpur.I want our railway minister to address these problems. SHRI ANANDA BHASKAR RAPOLU: Telangana people have been demanding for Kazipet Railway Division since long. I have been continuously pleaded for small railway under bridge near Jangaon railway station in Warangal district. Kindly give attention on it. In Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act there was a commitment to constitute a railway committee to look into the issues relating to Telangana. No Committee has been set up yet. Railway engineers are continuously pleading to upgrade their category from 'C' to 'B and permission to have an association of their own. In railway, utilization of the technological support is meagre so all these accidents are occurring. Safe tracks are the need of the hour and very important for safe journey. DR. PRABHAKAR KORE: The Government has made a historical beginning by merging the railway budget with the general budget. Railways has done injustice to my state, Karnataka. The demand for Hbballi-Belagavi direct train via Kittur, Kolhapur and Karat is long pending demand. We have been demanding since long a 354 train from Hubballi to Mumbai. In the Northern Karnataka, commencement of a train between Bidar and Gulbarga is long pending. I hope that the Minister will address these issues. SHRI VISHAMBHAR PRASAD NISHAD: The problem of pick pocketing is common on railway stations. Rail fares are very high. Accidents are increasing. People have to face the shortage of drinking water on stations and trains. Food quality is also not very good. Late running of trains is a common problem. There is need to upgrade the Banda railway station. Tulsi express and Betwa Express should run on daily basis. Chitrakut-Kanpur Express should be extended till Lucknow. Garib Rath should have stoppage on Ragaul Station. Kindly try to address all these problems. SHRI PRAMOD TIWARI: The construction work of railway line from Amethi to Unchahar is going very slow. Kindly try to expedite it. should be connected with the . Pratapgarh Railway Station should be made as model station. SHRI MAHENDRA SINGH MAHRA: I think the Swatch Bharat Abhiyan is not being implemented on railway stations. There are no proper arrangement of toilets on railway stations. Great injustice has been done with Uttarakhand. There was a proposal to extend the last railway station from Tanakpur to Bageshwar. UPA Government even had made provision of token money for that. But now it has been curtailed. Kindly give attention to this important line. SHRI RAJEEV SHUKLA: Because of the new fare policy of railways, more and more people are shifting from trains to airlines. I want to know from Minister whether he is willing to change railway passenger fare policy. How is he planning to reduce the operational cost of the Railways. Because then remaining money can be utilized for other safety purposes and for providing other conveniences to the passengers. SHRI CHUNIBHAI KANJIBHAI GOHEL: We go to Somnathpur to Nagpur travelling in two trains i.e. one from Somnathpur to Mumbai and thereafter Mumbai to Nagpur. The passengers of first class and second class are not allowed to use the 355 retiring room of Mumbai, which is a halting point between the above stations, as halt time between these two trains is more than 4 hours. If the retiring room is lying vacant then the passengers should be allowed to stay there. It is causing a big problem to aged and other passengers. SHRI LAL SINH VADODIA: The train frequency for famous temple of Dacor Bhagwan Ranchodrai in district Kheda, Gujarat is less. I request that there should be a train from Delhi to via Godhara, Dacor, Anand, and a train from Delhi to Mumbai via Godhara, Dacor and Vadoda. CH. SUKHRAM SINGH YADAV making his maiden speech, said: Despite having the status of Headquarter, the Kanpur Dehat has no railway station of its own. I request that Lalpur station be developed so that people can avail the facility of major trains and similarly, more trains be stopped at Rura station coming under Kanpur Dehat. Keeping in view the recent rail accident happened under this Headquarter, security aspect also be taken seriously. The catering service of the railways be improved and proper health facilities be ensured in the trains. SHRI RAMKUMAR VERMA: I congratulate the railway minister for making improvements in the railways. Not only the number of passenger trains and length of rail lines have been increased, cleanliness and safety of the passengers, particularly of women's, have been duly taken care of in this budget. A passenger train be provided between Delhi-Jaipur for the local passengers. The stoppage of super fast trains be made at Bandikui and Gandhi Nagar railway station of Jaipur. A number of tourists travel by the Marudhar Express and though, the number of coaches of has been increased, but the condition of the AC coaches of this train are not up to the mark. A security personnel be deputed in the reserved coaches in the train. SHRI BASAWARAJ PATIL: According to a provision of the railways, an employment is given to a person who has given large portion of his land for laying new railway line, but no job has been offered for such persons yet in the case of Gulbarga-Bidar rail line. 356

Similarly, Gulbarga has not been made Divisional Headquarter. Though land has been provided by the Government of Karnataka, the construction work of rail coach factory has also not started yet. The Centre must fulfil its promise of starting a train between Bidar and Gulbarga in March itself. A train between Vikarabad and Raichur in day time be provided. SHRI HARIVANSH: The trains between Delhi and Patna are taking too much time. The railway is facing very serious infrastructure problem which is evident from the fact that the capacity utilization is 120-140 per cent between Ghaziabad and Mughalsarai. The trains have been increased but infrastructure has not, because there is shortage of funds in the railways. The railways has to take loan from LIC as it is unable to have funds from internal resources. The Government must address basic problems of the railways. SHRI MAHESH PODDAR: The State of Jharkhand is at second place in respect of revenue in the country, but has been neglected in railway facilities. The State provided sufficient fund to the railways, despite having limited resources. The distance between Mumbai and can be reduced by hundreds of kilometer through the completion of Barwadih-Chirimiri rail line, which is pending for want of funds, So the rail ministry should take initiative in this regard. The survey of Gumla-Shimdega-Lohrdarga rail line had been completed in the year 2008, but the work has not started. We have land in Ranchi, the stainless steel coach factory can be shifted there from Kerala. SHRI P.L. PUNIA: The survey of 25 meter long new railway between Barabanki and Fatehpur via deva sharif has been completed, but the work has not been started yet and the ministry is not responding to the correspondence in this regard. Further, no money has been provided for this line also. This is very important rail line for the pilgrims of the country.

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SHRI HARSHVARDHAN SINGH DUNGARPUR: I request to complete the broad gauge conversion of Ahmedabad- Dungarpur-Udaipur line for boosting tourism. I would also request to complete the Ratlam-Banswara-Dungarpur rail line at the earliest as Banswara is the only district in Rajasthan which is not connected with the rail line. Further, doubling of rail line between Alwar and Bandikui be put on fast track. SHRI JAIRAM RAMESH: I want to know from the Railway Minister about the progress made in having bio-toilets in the railway coaches as decided by the UPA Government in 2011. I also want to know whether there is a clear roadmap, by when the social obligations component of the Railway Budget will be met from the General Budget so that the financial position of the Railways will improve and wheather a decision has been taken for setting up an independent regulatory authority for fixing passenger and freight rates.

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SHUMSHER K. SHERIFF, Secretary-General. [email protected]

****Supplement covering rest of the proceedings is being issued separately.

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