RAJYA SABHA ______∗SUPPLEMENT TO SYNOPSIS OF DEBATES ______(Proceedings other than Questions and Answers) ______Tuesday, March 11, 2008/ Phalguna 21, 1929 (Saka) ______THE BUDGET (RAILWAYS) 2008-09 - CONTD. SHRI NAND KISHORE YADAV : Hon’ble Railway Minister felt very proud while presenting the Railway Budget, 2008-09. He said that the railways are earning a profit of crores of rupees every year. It is merely the jugglery of statistics as railway projects of about Rs.47000 crores are pending today. The railway system is the same old system. Signals, coaches are also old, facilities are similar, so how the development of railways is taking place. In recent years a number of announcements have been made. But they have not been reviewed. These announcements have not been implemented till today. In this way hon’ble Railway Minister have cheated the public so far. Today, whatever he has said in the Budget, I do not think he will be able to implement them in the coming years. During the Budget he said that we have not raised the fare. But as far as I know, the Department of Railways have increased the fare by fifty per cent during these four years. ______*This Synopsis is not an authoritative record of the proceedings of the Rajya Sabha.

169 Also, most of the trains are running late by twelve, sixteen hours. They have changed the category of trains. For this, public have to pay ten-twenty rupees extra. They said that more passengers will be traveling in old coaches. As a result facilities will be less. He said about the ‘Garib Rath’. The condition of ‘Garib Rath’ is such that poor people fear to travel in it because they fear by the mere sight of A.C. Poor people travel in those trains which have open windows. The condition in ‘Garib Rath’ is such that the number of berths have been increased so much that it becomes difficult to move within the coach. Also, the non-peak season so far had 105 days which have been reduced to 60 days. That means the concession now will be only half. Our area has certain demands. Wherein modification of Azamgarh Railway Station, an over-bridge on adjoining crossing, a train from Azamgarh to Kolkata, two trains between Azamgarh-Mau at noon time and to start a train from Sambal to Delhi are the major demands. SHRI V. NARAYANASAMY : I support this Rail Budget. It is a ‘Dream Budget’. Earlier, the Opposition parties were demanding ‘Elections’ but after the presentation of this ‘Railway Budget’ and ‘General Budget’ they have become silent. For the first time in the history of Indian Parliament the Minister of Railways has reduced the rail-fare of First Class, Second Class and Sleeper Class. It is a fact. For the last four years he has kept it the same. Industry has said that the Railway Budget is anti- inflationary. A new look has been adopted in the Budget with railway lines for tribal areas and remote areas. The Hon'ble Railway Minister and the Hon'ble Prime Minister went to Jhabua. They laid the foundation stone for a Rs. 1250 crore project of laying the railway line there. Because of this, there

170 will be development in that area. The BJP was in power for eight years. Unfortunately, they did not have that vision. Railway Budget doesn't only talk about fares, it talks about passenger amenities, modernization of railway stations. We want world-class railway stations in all the States. For the first time, in the last three years, Rs. 75,000 crores have been earned by the Government by way of creating a freight corridor, by increasing the frequency of trains, by having additional bogies. Your own State of Kerala has been given a railway coach factory by Laluji. In backward States like Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan, new trains have been introduced and those States are being ruled by the BJP. We want all sorts of facilities to be provided to the people. I agree there can be constructive criticism. When allocations are made, we have to see that these are evenly distributed among all the States. Left-party friends always criticize the Budget. This time the Left Parties have also started praising this Budget. BJP have not even given their reaction to the media. All type of people, have been given concessions by the Railway Minister. Mumbai suburb has got 300 additional services in this Budget. For laying new railway lines, the Government has to see whether sufficient funds are there or not. I request the Hon'ble Minister to adhere to the time schedule so that the project is finished within the stipulated time frame and without cost escalation. A new train has been introduced between Puducherry and Bengaluru. I am grateful to the Hon'ble Railway Minister for that. We want the East-Coast Railway Line from to Mahabalipuram. The Hon'ble Railway Minister has sanctioned that project. By connecting Velankanni, Nagore and Shanishwar temple in Karaikal, all three religions are covered. The funds have been given by the Railway Ministry. I want that this

171 project should be finished in this year itself, i.e., 2008 Puducherry to Mahe train has been introduced now. We need a train facility to the people of Yanam . I want the Railway Minister to look into this. I have a last point. We wanted a Shatabdi model train between Chennai and Puducherry. It has not yet been finalized, so far. I urge upon the Railway Minister to consider my demands and help the States of and Puducherry. SHRI TARINI KANTA ROY: I would like to say that we support the Budget but with some reservations. This year, the Railway Budget for 2008-09 certainly has some positive features. The reduction of passenger fares is particularly welcome. Reducing freight rates for both petrol and diesel is also a good step. There are some concerns like targets of new lines which is only 350 kms.; gauge conversion, 2150 kms.; and doubling, 1000 kms., which are quite low. The Railway Budget, in many ways, ignores the National Common Minimum Programme. The pace towards privatization has also gained momentum. It has gradually increased the private participation in infrastructure development. This Budget is not isolated from the policy of economic reforms pursued by this Government. The age-old signalling system should be transformed into the modernized signalling system. What will be the role of private sector while four stations have already been modernized and upgraded? Should we hand over the core sector of the Railways to the private sector? The catering system is not a passenger-amenity now; but it is commercially oriented. The private contractors are exploiting the workers multifariously. The Indian Railways are surrendering the vacant posts instead of filling up the same. They are going to outsource in respect of printing of tickets. As regards the Commission for Vendors of

172 Northern Railway, the orders of Court are not being complied with, for the last 25 years. The Minister of Railways has made announcement as regards some new vacancies while 993 vacancies are lying vacant in the Railway Protection Force. As per the announcement of Railway Budget for 2007-08, 8000 vacancies are still to be filled up in the Railway Protection Force. Garib Rath as declared for Guwahati-Kolkata, has yet not been started. On account of non-doubling of the railway tracks from New Jalpaiguri to New Bongaigaon through Jalpaiguri Road and New Cooch Behar, how can the infrastructural development be made in the North-East region? The New Maynaguri-Jogighopa lines project is still pending. The demand for a daily train from New Cooch Behar to Sealdah has still not been fulfilled. Even the demand for a superfast train like Shatabdi/Jan Shatabdi from Sealdah to Haldibari via NGP and Jalpaiguri district has not been met. SHRI RAHUL BAJAJ: I congratulate the Minister of Railways for the universally acclaimed Fifth Railway Budget. I support the Budget because the Railways are having surplus and profit. But, as an important organization of India, the Railways are required to be strengthened. I am very happy with the announcement of Delhi-Mumbai Industrial corridor. But, it should immediately be started. The share of the Railways as regards freight movement of non-bulk items is very low. People do not prefer the Railway conveyance as a result of non- existence of end-to-end connectivity and involvement of more time. The Railways have increased productivity and better utilization of all assets. But on account of short life of railway tracks, wagons, racks, etc, we should make more investments.

173 I do not oppose the private sector. The public-private sector would be heartening in the Railways. We have to follow the example of China in order to increase profits. Now, I am coming very quickly to my last point. The railway Minister has achieved this after laying down the broad policy guidelines. They did well, they did investments and the present Government is reaping fruits of that. There must be some institutional mechanism. That within the supremacy of the political masters the railway Board and the other entire managements should have more autonomy so that the good work done is not turned back. SHRI TARLOCHAN SINGH: You pay more and you are given this ticket. I don't think this is a people's budget in that sense. The cancellation charge of Air ticket is Rs. 100 whereas Railway is charging Rs. 250 for cancellation of tickets. Even then is it a people's Budget? Why not we invite private people to lay down new railway lines only for goods trains? When you have thousands of crores of rupees, what is the facility for senior citizens and handicaps in this Budget? You cannot cross the platform on the railways station. What should the old people do? Why are you not taking up this? Everybody is talking about the Commonwealth Games, but there is not cleanliness. The Railway Minister has done very good work in regard to introducing new trains. Why should not Haridwar-Rishikesh-Dehradun be connected properly? You have sanctioned a new train from Vardha for Nanded. At least, 5000 people travel as pilgrims' everyday on this line. Kurukshetra in Haryana is a big pilgrim centre. But it is not connected on either side. I raised this point that Haryana has been part of Punjab, but, you have no signboard in Punjabi. Please do not follow a

174 policy of providing facilities on political basis. Why are you depriving this to Punjabi people? Why are not regional newspapers being oprovided in Shatabdi Express? You name the trains as super fast, but, they take more time. During the month of October, Sikhs all over the world are celebrating 300 years of the installation of Gurugranth at Nanded and also the passing away of Guru Gobind Singhji. We request the Hon'ble Railway Minister that there should be trains all over India connecting Nanded during those seven days. A special train for this purpose should be started for Bhatinda. New trains have been started from Amritsar but ending in Bihar. I request the Hon'ble Minister to take them from Amritsar to Kolkata and Bihar is on the way. SHRI VIJAY J. DARDA: First of all I congratulate the Railway Minister Laluji for presenting continuously five progressive and profitable Budget. By introducing Gareeb Rath, you have connected common man of the country. You have implemented the concept of our leader Smt. Sonia Gandhi. You have further reduced the fares of Railways. You have taken special care for women, children, students and senior citizens. You have taken a historic decision for inclusion of 38,000 coolies in group 'D' post of Railways. That is a very commendable decision. I feel that the Opposition parties should definitely criticize but that should be a constructive criticism. Earning a profit of Rs.25,000 crores in a year is not a small achievement. The hon’ble Minister has instilled confidence in the Rail Board and among the workers. This is the best operational ratio in the history of Railway and seventy six paise out of the earning of one rupee is being spent on it. The record profit of Rs.77000 crores by the railway during the four years of the Rail Minister.

175 This profit will reached to one lakh thousand crores rupees, which will help in clearing the pending projects. The hon’ble Minister has sanctioned 281 kilometre long Vardha-Yawatmal-Nanded rail line, which is a historic event in the sense that this rail line will pass through Vardha Sewagram of Bapu to Nanded of Guru Govind Singh. This rail line will pave the way for progress in Yawatmal area. I believe that the Amravati-Mumbai rail line will also be completed soon. I express my thanks to Laluji for including Nagpur Railway Station in the list of stations which are to be developed as the world class stations. To complete the rail line from Delhi to Mumbai and from Ludhiana to Kolkata, which is a dedicated freight corridor in the period of five years is the biggest challenge. It will be a giant step in itself. Sub-urban rail service is lifeline for Mumbai which is economic capital of our country. For this service Rs. 5000 crores has been provided, which is not adequate. This amount should be increased in view of growing population and other aspects in this regard. SHRI VIJAY KUMAR RUPANI : We the members of opposition parties are trying to expose the short comings prevailing in the Budget during the ongoing discussion. This is also a part of democracy. We are not just opposing the Budget for a mere show. The purpose of this opposition is to help in providing better facilities to the people in the future. The industrial world has appreciated this Budget. Talking of profits by them suits them since they are all businessmen. But the reflection of profit is just an illusion of figures. If there is really profit, then I would like to know the steps taken with regard to the new trains being sought by the various members for the last

176 so many years. In this Budget no new train has been introduced for and it is an injustice to Gujarat. Large scale industrial growth is being taken place in Gujarat and Railway network is very much needed for development of infrastructure here. The ports are under the process of development in Gujarat but not a single Railway line has been sanctioned for it. I demand that the headquarters of the Western Railway should be made in Ahmedabad. There is a small passenger train with six coaches only from Rajkot to Somnath in Gujarat. The commuters are forced to travel on the roof of the compartments because of lack of space inside the train. I demand that at least three more coaches should be added in it. Ahmedabad-Chennai Navjeevan Express should be extended up to Somnath so that the people from southern India may visit Somnath temple. The Broad Guage conversion work between Ahmedabad-Udaipur Railway line has so far not been done. There is still Narrow Guage Railway line in most part of the Gujarat in the 21st century and it should be converted into Broad Guage. The doubling work of Kandla - Bhatinda Railway line has also not been considered. Necessary steps should be taken by the Railways to re-open the suspended Railway line in Sorath in District Junagarh. The suspended trains should also be re- introduced so that inconvenience being faced by the people may be removed. SHRI TIRUCHI SIVA: I would like to congratulate the Railway Minister and his team for having presented a commendable Budget. The Railway Minister along with his excellent team studiously worked to bring about the turn-around in the Railways. An indication of that is the steady rise in cash surplus of Railways from Rs. 9,000 crores in 2005 to a record of

177 Rs. 25,000 crores in 2008. The modernization of the railway infrastructure has been identified as one of the main priority areas. The growth in the railway traffic is astounding. In 1950-51, the Railways transported 1,284 million passengers and 93 million tones of freight. In 2006-07, the railways moved 6,219 million passengers and 728 million tones of freight. Of course, the percentage of freight increase is more than that of passengers. But on the other hand, the expansion of railway network is at a very slow pace. In the recent few years, there has been increasing demand for rail transportation in the existing routes, and the saturation of the existing routes results in the slow movement of passenger and freight traffic and makes it not possible to provide adequate number of trains for the passenger and freight traffic. The Railway Minister should take into consideration the need and the demand for doubling the line from Villupuram to Dindigul. I would insist on expediting the doubling process, and so also the electric traction. There has been a deceleration in the growth of acquisition of wagons by the Railways. How are the Railways going to achieve the target of 10,200 wagons in the year 2007-08 and 20,900 wagons in the year 2008-09? Since the fares have come down, the number of people thronging for reservation will increase whereas the number of coaches will remain the same. How they are going to tackle this issue? I would like to know the status and performance of the Special Railway Safety Fund (SRSF). My demand to the Railway Minister is to consider running an inter-city express starting from Tiruchi to Tirunelveli via Madurai. I would like to insist on the Railway Minister to continue the Rockfoot Express from Tiruchi, instead of extending it to Mayiladuthurai. Similarly,

178 there should be a day train from Tiruchi to having link at Vriddhachalam. As far as the employees in the Railways are concerned, they should be paid on a par with the employees of the public sector undertaking to tap their talent. The Ponmalai Railway Hospital at Tiruchi has to be upgraded. Outsourcing has been a great failure in the Railways. Even with the advent of the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Ltd., the catering service has not improved at the stations and on trains. I appreciate and I congratulate the Railway Minister for bringing the Railway up to this level, increasing the profit and cash surplus and sanctioning so many schemes to Tamil Nadu. SHRI MATILAL SARKAR: The Agartala-Sabrum line is included in the proposals, no budgetary provision has been clearly mentioned. So, I emphasise that the work from Agartala to Sabrum should be started expeditiously, because this will open up an opportunity to the North-Eastern States to use the Chittagong Sea Port in the near future. In fact, the railway line has not entered Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Sikkim. Though there are 14 projects in the pipeline in the North-Eastern States, the work is very, very slow and the Budgetary provision is also very, very meagre. The gauge conversion from Lamding to Churaibari is at risk, probably, because there is dearth of security forces. In this year, the budgetary provision is Rs. 231.02 crores. It has been reduced. For gauge conversion, in 2007-08, Rs. 355 crores was the provision. The provision in this Budget is only Rs. 61 crores. For doubling of lines, in 2007-08, the provision was Rs. 32 crores approximately. For this year it is only Rs. 19 crores. All this means that the North-East will again be neglected and it will again remain neglected. It has been

179 suffering from so many problems like terrorism, extremism, communications and transport, lack of industrialization. The fund allocation for the North East is not proportionate to the demands. There are some welcome steps in the Railway Budget and I appreciate those steps. Laluji has prepared a Budget where passenger fares have been reduced. For new lines, the target is fixed at 350 kilometres; for gauge conversion, it is 2150 kilometres and for doubling, it is 1000 kilometres. There is contract work in trains and other places. The privatization is going on there. The quota for privatization has been increased. We have strong objection to it. As far as the vacancies are concerned, there are 1.5 lakh vacancies in the Railways. There is no provision in the Budget to fill up these vacant posts. I demand that all the vacant posts should be filled in. Discussion not concluded.

V.K. AGNIHOTRI, Secretary-General. [email protected]

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