LOK SABHA ___
SYNOPSIS OF DEBATES (Proceedings other than Questions & Answers) ______
Tuesday, April 26, 2016 / Vaisakha 6, 1938 (Saka) ______
*MATTERS UNDER RULE 377
(i) SHRI RODMAL NAGAR laid a statement regarding need to
establish a Kendriya Vidyalaya at Narsinghgarh in Rajgarh
parliamentary constituency, Madhya Pradesh.
(ii) SHRI SUBHASH CHANDRA BAHERIA laid a statement
regarding need to expedite setting up of a rail coach factory at
Bhilwara, Rajasthan.
(iii) SHRI PANKAJ CHAUDHARY laid a statement regarding need to
set up an Integrated Ayush Hospital in Maharajganj district, Uttar
Pradesh.
(iv) SHRI GOPAL SHETTY laid a statement regarding need to take
measures for welfare of farmers in the country.
* laid on the Table as directed by the Chair. (v) DR. ANSHUL VERMA laid a statement regarding need to provide
electricity connection to Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas in
Hardoi parliamentary constituency, Uttar Pradesh.
(vi) SHRIMATI JAYSHREEBEN PATEL laid a statement regarding
need to accord early approval to the proposal of Government of
Gujarat for declaration of areas around various wildlife sanctuaries in
the State as eco-sensitive zones.
(vii) SHRI SUSHIL KUMAR SINGH laid a statement regarding need to
provide PNG in Aurangabad parliamentary constituency, Bihar.
(viii) SHRI NANA PATOLE laid a statement regarding need to create
awareness among people regarding importance of donation of organs.
(ix) SHRI HARISH MEENA laid a statement regarding need to ensue
student friendly academic environment at NIT, Srinagar, Jammu and
Kashmir.
(x) SHRI ASHOK MAHADEORAO NETE laid a statement regarding
need to speed up the process for construction of Wadsa-Gadchiroli
and Nagpur-Nagbheed railway lines in Maharashtra.
(xi) SHRI A.T. NANA PATIL laid a statement regarding need to restart
unit of National Textiles Corporation at Chalisgaon, Maharashtra. (xii) SHRI OM BIRLA laid a statement regarding need to set up a team to
report on the condition of railway underpasses facing inundation
during rainy season on Kota-Bundi railway section in Rajasthan.
(xiii) SHRIMATI RAKSHATAI KHADSE laid a statement regarding
need to improve AM radio frequency at par with FM radio.
(xiv) SHRI MULLAPPALLY RAMACHANDRAN laid a statement
regarding need to declare the Puttingal Temple tragedy in Kollam,
Kerala as a national calamity and extend financial assistance to
Kerala.
(xv) SHRI GUTHA SUKENDER REDDY laid a statement regarding
need for establishment of a separate High Court for Telangana.
(xvi) SHRI S. SELVAKUMARA CHINNAIYAN laid a statement
regarding need for four-laning of National Highway between Karun
and Coimbatore via Kangayam and from Kangayam to Tiruppur in
Tamil Nadu.
(xvii) SHRI K. ASHOK KUMAR laid a statement regarding need to adopt
appropriate scientific storage techniques to minimize loss of
foodgrains in the country.
(xviii) SHRI BALBHADRA MAJHI laid a statement regarding need to
withdraw the restrictions and include new projects under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana in Nabarangpur parliamentary
constituency of Odisha.
(xix) SHRI SHRIRANG APPA BARNE laid a statement regarding need
to provide adequate basic facilities in long passenger distance trains in
the country.
(xx) SHRIMATI KOTHAPALLI GEETHA laid a statement regarding
need to construct compound walls around all the girls' hostels in Arka
parliamentary constituency in Andhra Pradesh.
(xxi) SHRI KAUSHALENDRA KUMAR laid a statement regarding
need to undertake measures for ground water recharge and rainwater
harvesting in the country to address the problem of water scarcity in
various parts of the country.
(xxii) SHRI RADHESHYAM BISWAS laid a statement regarding need to
reopen the Cachar Paper Mill, a unit of Hindustan Paper Corporation
Limited at Panchagram, Assam.
BUDGET (RAILWAYS), 2016-17 - GENERAL DISCUSSION
DEMANDS FOR GRANTS (RAILWAYS), 2016-17
SHRI MALLIKARJUN KHARGE initiating said: At times we make lots of promises but in enthusiasm there is little implementation. Now I come to rail safety. In 2013-14 under the UPA rule 54 passengers had lost their lives. Now in
2015-16, this went up to 64. There should have been an improvement after this government came to power. It is the Congress Party which initiated the efforts for uni-gauge regarding the 66,000 km rail lines. The present government promised in
2015 to create a safety fund of Rs. 1 lakh crores. A committee was also constituted. I want to know how much money has been allocated, deposited in this
RRS Committee and the amount sanctioned so far for this safety fund and the amount spent. There has been more than 50 per cent cut in the appropriation of the
Railway Depreciation Reserve Fund. If there is no depreciation Reserve Fund how will the tracks be maintained. For renewal of Railway assets it is essential that there should be more amount in this fund. But when the funds are decreasing how can the railway assets be kept safe. In 2015-16, the Railway Development Fund was reduced from Rs.5750 crores to Rs. 1323 crore. How can you say that immense development is taking place. Now we come to capital fund. Even in this
25 per cent deduction has been effected. Regarding the Debt Service Fund this too has been subjected to 75 per cent deduction. The amount in this has been reduced to Rs.214 crores from Rs.900 crores. For doubling of railway lines compared to previous year's 25% reduction has taken place. In 2015-16 it was Rs.7113 crores.
Now in 2016-17 it is Rs. 4782 crores. The Governments says external investment is being made. But where is it being used? There is cut in every Head yet development is taking place. How can this happen? Cut has also been effected regarding Rolling Stock. There has been drastic reduction in capital expenditure which covers track renewal, signals, telecom, gauge conversion etc. This government is more concerned with marketing. Regarding revenue and expenditure in 2016-17 the target for total revenue was 10 per cent extra. It is interesting that in 2015-16 the total income was 9 per cent but the target set by the government was 10 per cent and the income was 9 per cent. How is it possible to undertake all the works when revenue is declining. In 2015-16 net surplus decreased from budget estimates by 20 percent , i.e. Rs.11400 crores. There has been a reduction of atleast 20 per cent in this. Total plan allocation was reduced by
15 per cent, and when plan expenditure is reduced development naturally would be down. I wrote at least 10 letters regarding the three Railway Divisions. We tried for these three Divisions even allotted land. They will complete the projects regarding the Mysore Terminal, doubling in Bengaluru, regarding electrification.
Karnataka was the first state which agreed to provide 50 per cent of the share.
Whatever projects are pending in Karnataka, Andhra, Telangana and in other states should be completed. On the one hand Government is building high speed rail network with the expense of Rs.200 crore per kilometer, whereas if this fund is used in creating rail network in those areas which lack in rail facilities then 5000 km instead of 500 km rail network can be built. YOGI ADITYANATH: I rise in support of the demands for grants
(Railway) for 2016-17 presented by the hon. Minister of Railways. The development works undertaken by the Minister of Railways under the leadership of hon. Prime Minister during the past two years is commendable. Progress of the nation is the duty of all of us. For the first time it is seen that rising above political narrow mindedness the Ministry of Railways is undertaking development work in a practical and farsighted manner. For the first time attempt is being made to give priority to important schemes related to the common man and in the interest of revenue. At present a passenger travelling in any corner of the country can present his problem to the Minister of Railways within minutes and its solution can be seen quickly. There are challenges before the Indian Railways which include safety and security, punctuality, cleanliness and information as well as transparency regarding rail projects. All these challenges have been adequately included in the Railway
Budget. Special emphasis has been placed to increase revenues not only through fares but also through other sources. Several aspects have been mentioned in
Mission 2020: providing reservation as per needs, reliable service, increasing the speed of mail express trains to 80 km etc. I feel that the ministry of Railways has got such a Minister who has successfully resolved the issue of cash crunch. The
Government is announcing various schemes with full responsibility and will also complete all these schemes. It is for the first time that the Ministry of Railways has achieved ambitious target of constructing 2500 km additional broad gauge line.
Electrification of rail lines is also a very important from the point of view of environment also. So far, 1600 km rail line was electrified last year and for the year 2016-17, a target of 1800 km has been fixed. In Bihar construction of two rail engine factories has been started with a cost of Rs.40,000 crores under the Make- in-India programme. We are also happy that the rate of rail accidents has also come down. We normally observe that the condition of unreserved coaches used to be quite bad. Antyodaya express and Deendayal express trains have been introduced and these trains have been well received by the general public. The passenger insurance is another good measure taken by the government to ensure safe rail journey. I welcome the measures initiated by the Ministry of Railways to increase its revenue earnings. Railways is one of the largest departments of the world working under single management. I would like to draw the attention of the hon. Minister of Railways to certain issues relating to loco pilots. In fact, they had also submitted their grievances through a memorandum to the Ministry of
Railways. Junior and Senior Section Engineers have long been demanding Grade
B scale. I feel that the grievances of the serving railway employees should be resolved in a time bound manner. I would congratulate the Minister of Railways that he announced various schemes in a non-partisan manner and taking into account the needs of all the people. A loco electric factory was sanctioned in Gorakhpur sometime back but latter on it was transferred to some other place. I would congratulate the Railway Minister that he reached Gorakhpur and enquired from us and the general public about our grievances and when we put forth our grievances then he sanctioned a loco electric shed to Gorakhpur. I would, therefore, request the Hon. Minister of Railways that he should come to Gorakhpur for ground breaking ceremony and inauguration of this shed. Broad-gauge conversion work was being carried out on Gorakhpur, Anand Nagar, Nautanwa,
Naugarh, Badni, Balrampur, and Gonda meter gauge rail line and this line was inaugurated by the then Minister of Railways in the year 2003. Thereafter, their government did not give any money during their ten years term. When the BJP
Government came, the Hon. Minister of Railways sanctioned Rs.1075 crore and completed this work. I would again request the Minister of Railways that he had sanctioned a weekly train to Mumbai but its speed is very slow and needs to be increased. There is also a need to introduce more such passenger trains on this route. There is one very important railway station Suratgarh on this line where there is a need to provide a stoppage of these trains. There has been a long pending demand to lay a new railway line from Anandpur to Hooghly via
Maharjganj district headquarters as this is the only district headquarter which is not connected by rail network. I would also request the Hon. Minister of Railways to introduce the bullet train between Delhi and Gorakhpur. There is also a need to ply a super fast train between Gorakhpur and Kolkata and the train plying from
Gorakhpur to Dehradun should be made daily.
SHRI MULAYAM SINGH YADAV: A former Prime Minister had announced a railway line from Etawah to Mainpuri and it was also to be extended upto Gajraula. In the entire Eastern Uttar Pradesh, only Mainpuri and Azamgarh are deprived of broad gauge rail network. Azamgarh has been connected by broad gauge rail network and now only Mainpuri is left out. A former Minister of
Railways had also announced that this train will not only ply to that place but it will also go to Etawah, Gwalior and Mumbai. Now, many years have passed by. I felt glade that it was stated in the railway budget that first incomplete works will be completed and then only new works will be taken up. I feel happy that now our work will be done and the train would be introduced. I would, therefore, urge to give about Rs.100-150 crore for completion of this rail line.
DR. TAPAS MANDAL: West Bengal is deprived of getting any viable project from this Railway Budget 2016-17. The Minister has allocated very meagre amount for the on-going projects in West Bengal. When our leader was the Railway Minister, she had announced a lot of projects for West Bengal. Those projects have been neglected by the present Government. This is my first appeal to the Union Minister. In my Lok Sabha constituency Ranaghat, there is a huge and long-pending demand for construction of motorable subway. Conversion of pedestrian subway to motorable subway is very important for the city of Ranaghat, which is divided by the railway stations. Frequency and passenger carrying capacity of Sealdah and Howrah bound local trains should be increased for the benefit of daily passengers. There are a lot of unmanned level crossings in my constituency. These should be manned. Kalyani city may be connected through metro railway from Barrackpore. Nabadwip Dham is the birth place of
Mahaprabhu Chaitanya. This station should be developed as a model railway station. A new Chakda Local Train should be introduced from Chakda to Sealdah during office hours.
*SHRI RAMESHWAR TELI:
*SHRI PRASANNA KUMAR PATASANI:
*PROF. RICHARD HAY:
*DR. SUBHASH RAMRAO BHAMRE:
SHRI RABINDRA KUMAR JENA: The hon. Railway Minister has taken various good steps in the Railway Budget, including allocation of about Rs. 4,600 crore to Odisha. The condition of Indian Railways is, in fact critical. One factor that demonstrates this is that the operating ratio of Railways is 92 per cent. This is very difficult situation for any organisation to operate. Some important steps need to be taken for turn-around of the Railways as it has very tough financial scene
* Please see Supplement ahead. We can well expect so from the present government. The Railways has to pay dividend for the gross budgetary support. This system should be reviewed. In several countries, the ratio of passenger fare to the freight rate hovers around 120 to 130 per cent. It is just the reverse in India; it is just 30 per cent. So, this is another critical situation which the Indian Railway has got. The Railways has to undergo a serious structural change. The Railways needs to concentrate its energy on its core activity. I have many demands for my constituency but at least, my demand for a Division at Balasore should be met. An elevated corridor should be constructed at Bhubaneswar. A passenger train should be introduced in Nilgiri in my constituency. Adequate budgetary provision should be made for Digha-
Jaleswar Railway line. Then, there is Digha-Baliapal-Basta, the North Odisha Rail
Corridor. Kindly expedite that project. We have requested for one train from
Balasore to Ahmedabad, one from Balasore to Rourkela and one Jan Shatabdi from
Kolkata to Bhubaneswar. We have also demanded to name Balasore Railway
Station in the name of Fakir Mohan Senapati who is the saviour of Oriya language.
Paschimbad unmanned level crossing where a lot of deaths are happening, should be manned. Our other demands like Rajdhani Express from Bhubaneswar to New
Delhi via Sambalpur, flyover at NH 42 at Boinda, a new train from Bhubaneswar to New Delhi via Sambalpur in the name of late Shri Biju Patnaik should be met.
We are also requesting for connecting roads from Cuttack to Paradeep Road with over-bridges and platforms at all respective places. Creation of new railway division at Jharsuguda and stoppage of Amravati Express at Jaleswar are some of our demands. We want a skill development centre at Koraput. Lanjigarh
Maintenance Workshop should not be taken out of Odisha. We want Express train from Jagdalpur to New Delhi and daily train from Koraput to Bhubaneswar. We request you to expedite the work of SPB which has been formed by the Railway
Ministry and the Government of Odisha.
*KUMARI SUSHMITA DEV:
*SHRI KAUSHAL KISHORE:
*SHRI A.T. NANA PATIL:
SHRI SHRIRANG APPA BARNE: Pune in Maharashtra is the fastest growing city. There is heavy traffic jam near Pune. If Pune has suburban railway, this problem can be solved. Number of suburban trains in Mumbai should be increased. Work on Karjat-Panvel rail line should be started at the earliest. Semi- high speed train should be introduced between Mumbai and Pune. Passenger amenities at platforms should be improved at all stations. A sub junction should be made near Chinchwad. Frequency of trains between Pune and Mumbai should be increased. Matheran is a hill station near Karjat in my parliamentary constituency.
A narrow gauge train operates there since British times. Railway station and track
* Please see Supplement of that train should be overhauled for the benefit of the tourists. A subway should be constructed at gate no. 41 in Talegaon.
SHRI THOTA NARASIMHAM: This is a balanced railway budget with focus on rural and agriculture development. No hike in passenger fares is a big relief to the poor. Numerous reformative steps have been taken in this budget like setting up of bio-toilets, installation of CCTV, augmentation of catering services etc. Dedicated freight corridor from Kharagpur to Vijayawada, and the emphasis on port connectivity would auger well for commerce and trade in the country. A new railway zone with Vishakhapatnam as the headquarters should be established.
There was no mention of a double-decker train between Vishakhapatnam and
Vijayawada, or any originating express trains from Vishakhapatnam to Tirupati,
Chennai, Varanasi, Howrah and Bengaluru. Also, no new trains from Vijayawada or Guntur were announced to other Metros/South Indian cities. There is a need for a satellite station at Vijayawada. The division of Andhra Pradesh has brought so many unforeseen difficulties. Hence, I would request the hon. Railway Minister to be liberal to Andhra Pradesh. Rapid rail connectivity from the new capital of
Andhra Pradesh to Hyderabad and other cities should be established. Connectivity from Amravati to Guntur, Vijayawada and major South Indian cities through high speed train should be established. Funds for the Guntur - Chittoor Railway line should be released. Express trains from Vijayawada to Mumbai and Bengaluru should be introduced. Four pairs of express trains should be diverted to
Vishakhapatnam instead of stoppage at Duvvada which include the Howrah -
Yeshvantpur Duronto, Howrah-Yeshvantpur AC, Howrah - Prashanti Nilayam and
Kamakhya - Chennai. Stoppage of Coromandel Express and Howrah -
Kanyakumari Express at Vizianagaram and 11 other express trains at Srikakulam
Road station should be provided. Passenger amenities at Anakapalle and
Yelamanchili stations should be improved. Reservation counters at Chodavaram and Madugula should be opened.
*SHRI RAVINDRA KUMAR PANDEY:
SHRI B. VINOD KUMAR: The hon. Railway Minister while presenting the Railway Budget, has express a strategy of Nav Arjan, Nav Manak and Nav
Sanrachna. I expect that by changing the present norms, the functioning of the
Railways may change in a positive manner. The operating ratio for the year 2016-
17 will be 92 per cent which is likely to be 120 per cent. So, in the given circumstances, the Railway Minister should plan how he is going to implement the ambitious programme of laying new lines across the country. PPP Model is not a new model. Though they have 43,000 hectares of land, only 100 hectares of land was given under PPP. For the last two decades, the experience of the Railways with this PPP model is a failure. But the hon. Railway Minister has not given new
* Please see Supplement ideas. I hope the Railway Minister will clarify. With regard to joint venture with the State Government, our State Government has acquired land for many railway lines and we are trying to hand over those lands but they have not come forward yet for laying of the railway lines. Coming to the other most important issues with regard to my state, they assured that one more Railway Division will be announced in the State of Telangana in Kazipet. But no announcement has been made since the last two years. They also assured us a coach factory in Kazipet. The hon.
Minister has to assure us about this. With regard to the execution of the world class railway station at Secunderabad and also with regard to the tourist express trains connecting all the tourist destinations in the five southern Indian States, beginning and ending at Secunderabad, which may be named as Southern
Splendour, I had made a request earlier. We also requested to connect a train between Hyderabad and the new state capital of Andhra Pradesh, Amaravati by a bullet train. With regard to the ROBs and RUBs in the State of Telangana our State
Government has come forward to pay some amount under annuity basis to the
Railways to construct these RUBs and ROBs but nothing is happening from the
Railway Ministry.
SHRI SATISH CHANDRA DUBEY : I request the hon. Minister to kindly take up the work of doubling of railway line from Paniwaha to Gorakhpur. Funds should be allocated for taking up the modernisation work of Bagah, Narkatiyaganj, Ramnagar railway stations. Khairpokhra, Bhaironganj, Saathi stations are in a dilapidated condition. Therefore, there is a need for allocating funds for renovation of these stations. A washing pit should be constructed at Narkatiyaganj station. A DEMU train should be introduced between Bagah and Betia and it should ply twice a day so that working people could reach district headquarters easily. Similarly, a train should be introduced for Patliputra from Bagah and this train should depart from Bagah after 12 in the night and reach Patliputra in the morning. And it should depart from Patliputra in the evening so that it reaches
Bagah in the night at 12 O'clock or thereafter. Two overbridges are very important for our area. First is in the Cantonment area of Betia. Construction work on this overbridge should be undertaken immediately. The other overbridge should be constructed in front of the Bagah Sugar Mill and construction work should also be started on this. Narkatiyaganj is lagging behind in terms of development. I request the Government to introduce a train named Satyagraha train from Narkatiyaganj to
Delhi in this centenary year of Satyagraha Movement.
SHRI MD. BADARUDDOZA KHAN: The Government should give top priority to electrification of rail lines. I demand a new rail line from Behrampur to
Krishna Nagar via Domkal, Chalangi and Karimpur under Sealdah Division. The survey work on this line should be undertaken. My second demand is that the
Howrah-Farakka via Katua rail line should be electrified and funds should be allocated for the purpose. Thirdly, the hon. Minister has talked about elevated corridors for suburban areas. I demand that an elevated train line from Dumdum to
Sealdah should be constructed and funds should be allocated for the purpose. The bridge on the Bhagirathi river is almost complete but some dispute has cropped up there and this has stalled the work on this bridge. I request the hon. Minister to look into this matter. Funds have already been allocated for construction of two overbridges in Behrampur City. But the government has not yet given No
Objection Letter required for the purpose. Therefore, the Central Government and
State Government should find out a way out to this issue because the common man is on the receiving end due to this. The Toy Train in Darjeeling, West Bengal has already been declared a world heritage site. I would request the hon. Railway
Minister to provide some specific allocation for this Toy Train in this Budget itself.
*SHRIMATI JAYSHREEBEN PATEL:
*DR. VIRENDRA KUMAR:
SHRI RAMESH CHANDER KAUSHIK: I express my gratitude towards the hon. Railway Minster for presenting a very good budget this year wherein efforts have been made to undertake all such projects which have been lying pending for more than ten to twenty years. I request the hon. Minister to start operation of trains at the earliest on the Sonepath-Gohana-Jind rail route where
* Please see Supplement train of train operation has already been done. Stoppage for Shaire Punjab train
(12479-12498) be provided on Sonepat railway station of my constituency.
Electrification work on Rohtak to Julana and on Jind rail route has already been undertaken. I would request the hon. Minister to expedite the work as early as possible. Along with this, electrification work of Jind-Sapiton-Panipat-Gohana-
Rohtak rail route be also undertaken. The semi-bullet train introduced recently for
Agra be also provided for Chandigarh. Encroachment on vacant rail land should be removed and commercial activities should be started there to augment the income of the Railways. I thank the Minister for increasing the speed of trains. I express my gratitude to the Minister for accelerating pace of the work of the railways and work on old projects has also been galvanized.
SHRI VARAPRASAD RAO VELAGAPALLI: I compliment the hon.
Minister for awarding so many things to my constituency, Tirupati. One new train has been started from Shirdi to Tirupati. However, the issue which we have been raising that the train instead of being routed through Kadapa and Guntakal, the train may be routed through more potential areas like Gudur, Nellore and
Vijayawada so that the entire Andhra Pradesh could be covered. We also have been awarded two subways and ROB also has been sanctioned to us. More importantly, Nadikudi-Srikalahasti new track has been awarded Andhra Pradesh
Express which goes via Vijayawada. Coming from Visakhapatnam, it covers one part of the Andhra Pradesh, but there are other parts of Andhra Pradesh, like
Tirupati, Gudur, Nellore and Guntur. The State Reorganisation Act has provided a separate new Railway Zone at Vizag. Already more than two years are over. There is no reason why a small thing like this is pending. I would request the hon.
Minister to take this into consideration seriously. Modernization of Tirupati
Railway Station has been pending for a long time. Tirupati is an important place.
So, appropriate credit could be given to Tirupati. Another important thing that I want to mention and which is beneficial to all of us is about the meeting of the
General manager. Whenever the General manager call for an annual meeting with
MPs, they are not applying their minds. They are not considering our request adequately. Therefore, we would request is that whenever there is meeting of the
General managers and the MPs, they should apply their minds. Another thing is about level crossings. These days, they are discontinuing level crossings at many places. They are telling that the money has to be mobilised by the local resources.
*SHRI DODDAALAHALLI KEMPEGOWDA SURESH:
SHRI SHARAD TRIPATHI: Our present government has started the work for making Indian Railways of international level despite all odds. The hon.
Railway Minister has created a history by laying 2500 km new railway line in a very short time since Independence. Not only this, our Government has created a
* Please see Supplement record by completing the electrification work of 1500 km rail lines. The hon.
Minister has done a wonderful job by introducing the semi fast train from New
Delhi to Agra with a speed 160 km per hour. There are 942 railway sections which are being utilised beyond their capacity. Therefore, our hon. Minister has allocated more funds for the modernisation of these sections. Funds have been allocated for completion of the pending projects. A lion's share of the budget has been earmarked for the development of rail network in North-Eastern States. The maximum investment in the railways was Rs.40000 crore annually prior to our government came to power. It has been increased to rupees one lakh crore last year and presently, our government has created a record by allocating Rs. one lakh twenty one thousand crore on this count. Our Government has achieved the target of five per cent on non-ticketing revenue and we have set a target of ten per cent in coming times for the purpose. Lastly, I would like to congratulate the hon.
Railway Minister on behalf of the people of my parliamentary constituency for providing a train from Khalilabad station to Behraich via Bansi, Dumriaganj,
Utraula, Sravasti.
*SADHVI SAVITRI BAI PHULE:
SHRI ARVIND SAWANT: At the outset, I would like to congratulate and thank the hon. Minister of Railways to bring a good budget after a long time. I
* Please see Supplement appreciate him for providing the facility of elevated trains to the Mumbai city but the area between Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminal and Kalyan is deprived of this facility. I would like to make one more demand that the toilet facility should be provided in the lady compartments of all the local trains. Moreover, a heap of garbage can be seen on either side of the railway tracks during the train journey. A train having suction pump should be run to suck all the garbage. Proper attention should be paid to ensure the correct spelling of the names of the stations. Nander station should be brought under the administrative jurisdiction of the Central
Railway. Moreover, end to end bridge is required to be constructed from Parel to
Elphistone. Similarly, end to end bridges are required to be constructed from Khar road to Lalbagh and also in Sewri. I would like to make a request to you that recruitments at least to the posts of Group C and Group D should be made through regional employment exchange.
*SHRI ARKA KESHARI DEO:
SHRI JAI PRAKASH NARAYAN YADAV: The Railway is reflective of
Back-in-India, not of Make-in-India. Railway is incurring the loss of Rs.32,000 crore during 2016-17. You need to run simple trains like the Shatabdi, the
Rajdhani and EMUs and small trains instead of running bullet train. You should pay attention to the establishment of DRM office, Bhagalpur. Besides, the
* Please see Supplement frequency of the Rajdhani trains should be increased for one more day at Jasidih. I would like to request the Hon. Minister of Railway to start a new intercity train from Banka station. A washing pit should be constructed at Banka and the
Vikramshila train should be extended to Banka. Sultanganj, Banka, Munger,
Jamui, Jamalpur, Bhagalpur and Kiul railway stations should be upgraded.
Sufficient funds should be given for the pending projects in Bihar. The construction of Badhiyarpur, Haveli, Kharagpur, Lakhipur, Badhat Manangpur railway sections should be started at the earliest. New railway line should be constructed between Banka Lakhipur Khaira and Badhat Nawada. The education and training being provided for Special Class Railway Apprentice at I.R.R.E.,
Jamalpur of Eastern Railways should not be discontinued. Jamalpur railway station should be modernized. Moreover, the New Delhi-Howrah Rajdhani
Express should be run via Jasidih for two days.
SHRIMATI RANJEET RANJAN: The Minister of Railways was expected to bring a visionary rail budget but this has disappointed people. At present, railway is undergoing huge crisis. About Rs.6-8 lakh crores was required for the old and pending projects. At the same time, the Minister of Railways also said that no new project would be announced and the old projects will be implemented. But a glaring variance between his statement and his act is getting continuously conspicuous to us. Only 26,269 km out of 65,808 km of railway lines are electrified. We have on an average of one kilometer of railway line on the population of 18,390 people. The middle class hardly gets confirm tickets. The security is a matter of grave concern for Indian railways as it has to face 20 major collisions, 350 derailments and about 80 level crossing accidents every year. The old railway lines, old coaches and old signal system are required to be changed to check such accidents. I would like to say that cutting edge automated technologies like rail protection warning system and railway collision avoidance system are required to be included in the operating system as soon as possible for this purpose.
DR. ARUN KUMAR: I am thankful to you for providing me an opportunity to speak. The revolutionary budget introduced by the Minister of Railways has instilled confidence into the people. The Government has given a push to the old project at Madhepura by allocating Rs.40,000 crore. The way the focus is being given on the modernization of railway, electrification, gauge conversion and dedicated freight corridor will give a new height to the development. The efforts are being made to provide rail connectivity to North-East which is strategically important for us. Bihta-Arwal, Anugrah Narayan Road, Islam, Hullasganj,
Khijarsarai, Manpur railway lines need to be constructed at the earliest. A weekly train plying from Gaya to Chennai should be extended to Tirupati.
*SHRI BHAIRON PRASAD MISHRA:
* Please see Supplement *SHRI JANARDAN SINGH SIGRIWAL:
SHRI DUSHYANT CHAUTALA: A promise of running bullet train, high speed trains and trains for the transportation of milk and vegetables was made. But this seems to have stuck somewhere or the other. We will have to think for an alternative way for making the railway profit making. The way we have made most of the things online has provided us numerous facilities but the passengers have to face difficulties regularly due to poor connectivity. You should provide the facility of under railway line crossing where we are not able to provide the facility of same level crossing. We are required to provide the facility of electronic elevators or escalators as this facility is not available on a number of railway stations. At the same time, I would urge the Government to provide toilet facility at each of the railway platforms. The work relating to the Kisan Express should be transferred to the Bikaner division as it will facilitate the proper cleaning in it and the increasing of coaches from 11 to 17. Additional allocation should be made for
Hissar-Agroha rail line. The work of Maham-Hisar-Hansi railway line has been pending for long. It should be completed. The work of Uklana-Narvana line which connects with Chandigarh-Hissar-Sirsa rail line should be completed. The work of Hisar-Hansi-Jind rail line should be completed. Shatabadi Express should be run from Delhi via Rohtak-Bhiwani-Sirsa for one day in a week. DR. KIRIT P. SOLANKI: Indian Railways is not only a transporter for reaching from one place to another but it is also provides a linkage of one place in
India to another. This rail budget is going to take the Indian railways on to the path of modernization and rejuvenation. I would like express my gratitude to the government for initiating the proposals like starting the bullet train, introduction of suburban trains in Ahmedabad and setting up of a world class railway university at
Vadodara. As far as western railway is concerned, 75 to 80 percent of its network passes through Gujarat and it also receives revenue from the state in the same proportion. Therefore, it has been a long pending demand of the people of Gujarat that the headquarters of western railway should be created in Ahmedabad. This demand should be fulfilled.
*SHRI AJAY MISRA TENI:
SHRI KAUSHALENDRA KUMAR: The Government should think over the rationale for starting the bullet train project. The travel by it would be very costly and the common people are likely to stay away from it. Today our country has been passing through critical situation and the way in which railways have been running into losses continuously clearly reveals that railways is on the brink of bankruptcy. Therefore, I would like suggest that the government should draw its lessons from the previous railway minister in order to bring railways out of the
* Please see Supplement losses. The operating condition of the Rajdhani Express should be improved.
There should be a provision of compulsory reservation of seat in 3rd AC for the
Persons working as the personal assistance of the hon. Member of Parliament on the lines of facility of two 1st AC and one 2nd AC seat meant for the hon. Member of Parliament. The train from Patna to Ahmedabad runs once in a week. I request that it should be plied daily. One DMU train runs between Islampur to Patna. I request that an additional rake for this train should be provided so as to facilitate the people of the area. Second point is that Islampur is a very important trade center. I request that a goods godown should be developed there. One more DMU should be started between Rajgir and Biharsharif. Rajgir is a tourist place.
Therefore one DMU train should be started for it which plies via Biharsharif and
Daniyava.
*SHRIMATI REKHA VERMA:
*SHRIMATI ANJU BALA:
* SHRI SUDHIR GUPTA:
*SHRI RAHUL KASWAN:
SHRI RAJESH RANJAN: The political dispensation of the country has always done discrimination between the common man and elites. It would be very hard to envisage the true success of bullet train without bringing in smiles on the
* Please see Supplement faces of common man. I would like to whether the government propose to provide free and accessible train facility for those students, patients suffering from serious ailments who belong to the BPL section of the society. Do the government propose to make special arrangement of rail journey for those poor persons who are eager to undertake pilgrimage through rail route. If the government is willing to march on the path of progress than it is essential that the lives of common man is brought back on the tracks. It is absolutely essential that rail tracks are laid up to the village level and every platform is provided toilet facilities.
*SHRI RAVINDER KUSHAWAHA:
*SHRI ARJUN LAL MEENA:
*SHRI CHANDRA PRAKASH JOSHI:
* SHRI GAJENDRA SINGH SHEKHAWAT:
SHRI DADDAN MISHRA: This budget will instill a new ray of hope and inculcate a new sense of confidence for the debt trapped railways which has been facing resource crunch. This rail budget has laid the foundation of realizing the dream of achche din for the railways. Particular attention has been paid towards the development of infrastructure and capacity creation for meeting aspiration and dreams of the country men. This budget, apart from being the one fulfilling the aspiration of the people is also the budget for meeting the aspiration of people of
* Please see Supplement my constituency. The demand of connecting my constituency Sravasti with rail line has been a long pending one. Not only the announcement of constructing a rail line has been made in the coming budget but budgetary provision has also been made in this respect. I demand that work should be started at the earliest by earmarking of funds. Bahraich-Bhinga rail line should be extended upto Tulsipur.
The announcement for constructing maximum number of 910 ROBs was made in the previous year budget but my constituency fail to get even a single ROB. I urge that the demand of constructing three to four ROBs for my constituency should be met at the earliest.
*SHRI NANA PATOLE:
*SHRI RAMESH POKHRIYAL NISHANK:
SHRI RAJEEV SATAV: A direct rail line between Punjab and
Marathwada should be developed. The DRM office Nanded should be bifurcated and Mumbai should be connected to the central railways. A Railway University should be set up at Hingoli in the memory of Shri Gopinath Munde. The pilgrim circuit in Maharashtra should be provided rail connectivity. Hingoli should be developed as a model station. Approximately 800 trains pass from GM office during the holiday special. At least 50 trains should pass from my constituency.
** ** ** **
* Please see Supplement
ANOOP MISHRA Secretary General
**Supplement covering rest of the proceedings is being issued separately. © 2016 BY LOK SABHA SECRETARIAT NOTE: It is the verbatim Debates of the Lok Sabha and not the Synopsis that should be considered authoritative.
English and Hindi versions of Synopsis of Debates are also available at http://loksabha.nic.in.