___

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

Monday, July 14, 2014 / Ashadha 23, 1936 (Saka) ______

*MATTERS UNDER RULE 377

(i) SHRI ASHWINI KUMAR CHOUBEY laid a statement regarding need

to provide the allocated share of water of Son River to Bihar under

Bansagar agreement and initiate pending work in Kadvan Reservoir

Project.

(ii) SHRI RAVINDER KUSHAWAHA laid a statement regarding need to

repair the bridge over river Ghaghara connecting Deoria district and

Ballia district of .

(iii) SHRI RAMDAS C. TADAS laid a statement regarding need to provide

a special package for providing water for drinking and irrigation purposes

in particularly in Wardha Parliamentary Constituency in the

state.

(iv) DR. MANOJ RAJORIA laid a statement regarding need to implement

Chambal Lift Project in Karauli-Dholpur Parliamentary Constituency,

Rajasthan.

* Laid on the Table as directed by the Speaker. (v) SHRI CHHEDI PASWAN laid a statement regarding need to explore

mineral reserves in Parliamentary Constituency, Bihar.

(vi) SHRIMATI RAMA DEVI laid a statement regarding need to initiate

acquisition of land for construction of road along -Nepal border in

Sheohar Parliamentary Constituency, Bihar.

(vii) SHRI SANJAY DHOTRE laid a statement regarding need to expedite

the gauge conversion of the -Fatehabad--Mhow-Khandwa-

Amalkhurd-Akot-Akola Section.

(viii) SHRI A.T.NANA PATIL laid a statement regarding need to fix

remunerative price of agricultural produce keeping in view the cost of

inputs involved.

(ix) SHRI DILIPKUMAR MANSUKHLAL GANDHI laid a statement

regarding need to improve power situation in Maharashtra State.

(x) SHRI KAMLESH PASWAN laid a statement regarding need to

declare Dughdeswarnath Temple at Rudrapur in Deoria district, Uttar

Pradesh as a tourist place and provide basic facilities at the temple site.

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

undertake rejuvenation of canals in Bihar to facilitate irrigation of

agricultural fields in Bihar. (xii) SHRI KODIKUNNIL SURESH laid a statement regarding need to

release balance funds announced under Kuttanad package for mitigation

of floods and regulation of flood water in Kuttanadu region of .

(xiii) DR. P. VENUGOPAL laid a statement regarding need to share the

additional burden of premium over and above 2 per cent of the sum

insured under the National Crop Insurance Programme equally with

Government of .

(xiv) SHRI SUVENDU ADHIKARI laid a statement regarding need to

exempt the co-operative banks from the ambit of Income Tax Act.

(xv) SHRI RABINDRA KUMAR JENA laid a statement regarding need to

provide adequate financial assistance for foolproof maritime security in

the coastal region of .

(xvi) SHRI VINAYAK BHAURAO RAUT laid a statement regarding need

to acquire the residential Bungalow of Homi J. Bhabha, the eminent

nuclear physicist at in and convert it into a

National Heritage building.

(xvii) SHRI RAM MOHAN NAIDU KINJARAPU a statement regarding

need to allocate sufficient funds to tackle the kidney diseases in

Uddanam area of Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh.

(xviii) SHRI P. KARUNAKARAN laid a statement regarding need to increase

import duty on rubber. (xix) SHRI P. SRINIVASA REDDY laid a statement regarding need to

establish a Steel Plant at Bayyaram in Telangana State.

(xx) SHRI JAI PRAKASH NARAYAN YADAV laid a statement regarding

need to accord „National Fair‟ status to Sharavani Mela of Sultanganj,

Bihar.

STATUTORY RESOLUTION

Re: Disapproval of Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Amendment)

Ordinance, 2014

AND

TELECOM REGULATORY AUTHORITY OF INDIA (AMENDMENT)

BILL, 2014

SHRI initiating said: We have nothing personal agenda with any appointment in this Government. But the fact is, the way the Government has been transgressing the domain of Legislature is a matter of serious concern. This is my humble submission of this Government. It is because heaven would not have fallen upon you had that appointment been done through the regular legislative way. It is your Government, it is NDA Government that, in the year 2000, had amended the TRAI Act to rule out the appointment of chief regulators in any Central and State Government. So, now, the question is that the day the person was appointed, he was not at all qualified for that appointment. In spite of knowing the statutory disqualification of the same person, what had warranted the Government to bulldoze the golden path of legislative procedure? It smacks of a little hidden agenda. I would like to know whether the PMO was unaware of the statutory hurdles of that appointment. Once it was highlighted, the

Government did not want to eat the humble pie. The Government resorted to the

Ordinance route. I do not question the integrity and honesty of an individual. But only integrity cannot be the sole criteria for promulgation of any Ordinance. It could be the first instance in the annals of Indian Legislative Institution where a

Government at the Centre promulgated an Ordinance even before proving its majority on the Floor of the House. Your Party had objected many Ordinances brought by UPA Government for example, the Food Security Act, the Anti-

Corruption legislation, etc. I am simply drawing the attention of the hon. Minister and this House that this kind of Ordinance should not be brought in such a way. I hope it will shun from pursuing this Ordinance route because Ordinance can be promulgated only on extraordinary situation. They are referring to other financial institutions where this kind of restriction has not been imposed. This Government should not resort to this kind of an Ordinance simply on the pretext of other regulators. So the Government‟s intention is very obscure. That is why I am vehemently opposing this kind of a legislation.

SHRI : I rise to speak on the Telecom Regulatory

Authority of India (Amendment) Bill, 2014. Basically, this amendment relates to Clause (5). A question is being raised as to why the amendment is being made and it was provided that any member of TRAI after his retirement cannot hold any position in Central, state government or any public sector undertaking. I would like to make the Members recall that this Bill was passed in the year 1997. At that time, a restriction was imposed that the Chairman of the Authority cannot join any

Government or the private sector. The whole purpose was to bring transparency.

This amendment in Clause (5) is to rectify that the person could join any position in the Government after two years of his retirement. I fail to understand as to why this is being opposed as there are so many other regulatory authorities where such a restriction does not exist. The AIRA, the Pension Regulatory Development

Authority, the Insurance Regulatory Development Authority, the Competition

Commission of India, the Central Electricity Authority, the Petroleum and Natural

Gas Board, SEBI, the Central Information Commission and the Warehousing

Development Authority are such institutions where there is no restriction on

Members to join any Government or private sector after their retirement. If any such mistake was ever committed or any such anomaly exists then the Government is well within its right to rectify it. In fact, this was with the basic intent to create a consistency in Legislation. The second issue relates to as to why the Ordinance has been brought about. If the Prime Minister feels that some particular individual should work in his office and there is some hindrance in his appointment then the same hindrance cannot be removed. This situation is not acceptable. It was an over-sight. An over-sight has been attempted to be corrected. All the inadequacies have been corrected. We shall respect the competent and honest officers in the

Government. Why should we shun a talent because there is a rule against it and that rule needs to be corrected. In your Government also there were competent and honest officers and they are working in this Government as well. We would like to bring in meritorious people in the Government and we have resolved that we shall never compromise with the merit. In UPA Government, the bureaucracy was in shambles. With this decision, a message has gone down in the bureaucracy that competent and honest officers would get the pride of place in the Government.

DR. M. THAMBIDURAI: Some Opposition Member objected to the

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Amendment) Bill, 2014. But in a democratic country, when the new Government comes and whoever heads that

Government, he may have the choice to select his personnel. There is nothing wrong in that. The Prime Minister or the Cabinet decided to chose a person, if at all there is any rule against it or any hindrance against that, they have come forward to change that. That is the thing. Therefore, there is nothing wrong in that. The same person, served in the UPA Government as the Chairman of the

TRAI. I do not know what objection they are raising against him now. I do not know if this is the reason because he submitted a report which sometimes may hit them. Somewhere he raised certain issues which they overcame, violated and implemented them through his predecessor. Ordinance may come due to many reasons. I do not think there is any objection to that. Therefore, let this Bill be passed.

SHRI : I rise to speak on the Bill of Telecom

Regulatory Authority of India Bill. At the moment, when the TRAI ordinance is being converted into a Bill, I fully agree with Dr. Thambidurai ji that Prime

Minister can choose any officer, whom he feels fit for the position. We do not object it and we do not oppose it because of the greater interest of the governance.

The Prime Minister Office should function smoothly. On this issue, our support is assured.

SHRI DHARAM VIRA GANDHI: The BJP and the NDA all along ten years of UPA rule had been opposing the ordinance route of bringing out various amendments to the laws. But, the first thing that BJP did, within three days of its coming to power, was to bring an Ordinance, to appoint a person for the post of the

Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister. Though it is their prerogative yet this route is undemocratic. The Supreme Court clearly mentions that the situation should be extraordinary one. I want to know as to where the extraordinary situation is. My second point is that he was the Chief of TRAI during 2006 to

2009. This period is very much is question because of the biggest scam in the history of Indian politics. Both the Chairman of TRAI had been indicated by the

Supreme Court as well as the CAG during that period only. I oppose this Bill. SHRI N.K. PREMACHANDRAN: I rise to oppose this Bill. It is not the question of a particular person being holding the Office of the Prime Minister, it is the question of parliamentary ethics and conventions. The purpose of the

Ordinance is to bypass the Parliament. What was the intent of the Legislature at the time of passing this legislation in the year 1997? You may also see the retrospective effect of this Act coming into effect from 28th May, 2014. The question is whether there is no other person to hold that post in the Prime

Minister‟s Office. Is there such a lack of competent people in this country? It is not a case of an individual; it is a question of the Parliament. After assuming power by the NDA Government, within 46 days, what is their way of handling of the Parliament? The first one is this ordinance. The second one is the Andhra

Pradesh State Reorganization Bill which was passed on 11th July, 2014. The third one is the tariff hike of the Railways. These three instances would show that

Parliament is not being given due respect and consideration in respect of the legislation and in respect of other financial matters also. Here, the Parliament is making a legislation for a particular individual. That is the question which is agitating us. My point is that this Statutory Resolution has to be approved and the

Bill has to be withdrawn in order to protect the supremacy and independence of the

Parliament.

SHRI RAJESH RANJAN: It is the prerogative of the Prime Minister to choose the officer to work in his office but at the same time, I would like to say one thing that dignity and supremacy of Parliament should be kept in mind. There are officers with high moral values and integrity in the country. What was the need to choose the person by promulgating an Ordinance who otherwise was not eligible? Besides, the institution has been marginalized. I would like to say that to keep the honour of the institution the hon. Minister should withdraw the Bill.

SHRI MALLIKARJUN KHARGE: We are not challenging the prerogative of the Prime Minister to choose his staff but the way the appointment was made was unprecedented. We are opposed to the new practice they are putting in place. We are not opposed to an individual. But it is not fair to alter the entire institution for a person. There has been undue haste in promulgating the

Ordinance which brings sweeping changes in future and there is something more than what is being shown to us. There is question of ethics in it. I am not saying that it is illegal. The provision was made to keep the authority neutral but today when there is an interest, there may be scams and favourtism again. Therefore, I appeal to the government to withdraw it. We disapprove of it.

THE MINISTER OF COMMUNCATIONS AND INFORMATION

TECHNOLOGY AND MINISTER OF LAW AND JUSTICE (SHRI RAVI

SHANKAR PRASAD) replying said: Clause 2 of Article 123 clearly says that an

Ordinance promulgated under this Article shall have the same force and effect as an act of Parliament. TRAI Chairman could not work under the government but he could work under a Company after some time. This was the whole anomaly. There is a bar of two years for the Chairmen of certain bodies like IRDA for working in the government. So, there was a palpable anomaly as far as the ineligibility of the Chairperson of TRAI is concerned for taking up any government job. He could take up a private job after some time but he could never take up any government job whatsoever. Therefore, the first focus of this

Ordinance is to bring parity. A question was asked why this whole provision was there in the year 1997. At that time the government was also an operator running the telephone lines and therefore it was thought that perhaps the Chairman of the regulatory body should not work under the government. The government is no more running any telephone company. I have examined the matter and found that members of two bodies namely CVC and Public Service Commissions cannot work under the Government and rightly so because their job is completely different. There is no bar for the Election Commissioners also. In the case of

CAG, there is a bar. Their jobs are completely different. The second issue I would like to highlight is that no one questioned the integrity and competence of the officer in question. The Prime Minister‟s right to select an officer is a secondary question. Another point I want to make is that competence and talent in the country should be honoured. There have been references to the dignity of the

Parliament. Our government is for the dignity of the Parliament and this is our commitment. Some decades ago when the dignity of the Parliament was under attack, we fought it because we are committed to the Parliament. I feel, I have tried to resolve all the doubts. I urge to pass this Bill.

The Resolution was negatived.

The Bill was passed.

THE BUDGET (RAILWAYS)-2014-15- GENERAL DISCUSSION

DEMANDS FOR EXCESS GRANTS (RAILWAYS)-2011-12- Contd.

YOGI ADITYANATH continuing said: that the UPA Government has caused damage to the institutions to a great extent during last ten years. The Rail

Budget has been presented in the House with a positive approach. Certain good initiatives have been included in the Rail Budget which is a welcome step. At present the major challenge before the Indian Railway is of safety. Rail accidents occurred mainly due to two reasons, first one is fractured rail and second is unmanned railway crossings. UPA Government did not pay attention towards this. The Government has said that ultrasonic detection system will be installed to prevent the rail accidents which occurred due to fracture in rail and unmanned railway crossings will be made manned one. Two-three very important announcements have been made in the Rail Budget. Imparting training to the

Railway employees through incubator centre is a very important initiative. If the employees of Railway will be efficient, the working of Railway will also improve.

I welcome this initiative. I request the Minister of Railways that North-eastern railway has been neglected one, there is a need to pay special attention towards this. The trains are arriving and departing as per schedule but there is scope to improve it further. Besides, the Government has taken an another initiative to promote religious tourism. I request to give a Rajdhani train from to

Gorakhpur. Boddha circuits should be connected by rail network and an intercity train should be sanctioned to Allahabad from Gorakhpur. I welcome the initiatives taken to check corruption prevailing in . Railway incur revenue loss of Rs.10,000-12,000 crore every year due to corruption in Indian Railways.

Gorakhpur junction which is pride of Indian Railways lacks basic amenities.

Efforts should be made to renovate and upgrade all the platforms of Gorakhpur junction. The work pertaining to gauge conversion and electrification should be expedited. I request that a divisional office of Railways should be set up at

Gorakhpur. I hope that our North-Eastern Railway will not remain untouched under „sab ka saath, sab ka vikas’.

SHRI : One cannot imagine India without railways. I do hope that the Minister of Railways would live up to the aspirations of the people. The Members of Parliament come to the Minister in regard to demands of the people and those demands happened to be absolutely genuine. The proposals of railway projects are turned down on the pretext of non-viability. India is a social state and in social state every developmental scheme is not viewed from the viability angle. I discontinued this practice when I was the Minister of Railways. It was injustice to the poor people. Today, what is our image and what is reality?

93 per cent income of Railways comes from poor people. Most of the people killed in rail accidents are railway employees who protect Railways at the cost of their life. We people talk about Chinese railways we provide an outlay of 10 or 12 billion US Dollars to our railways, while Chinese Government provides an outlay of 116 billion US Dollars to its railways. We had formulated a vision 2020 document. It was mentioned in that if we cannot have employment oriented growth then the country may face many difficulties. If we want to bail out the

Railways we have three ways to do so. Money is mobilized from three sources.

First is budgetary support provided by the government and second is internal revenue generation and third is the revenue earned from national projects. If the government thinks that Railways can be viable on its own resources it can never happen. Be it China, Japan or America wherever Railway achieved major breakthroughs, it was due to the support of the respective governments. The

Government provided the entire basic infrastructure in these countries but what the

Railways is getting in our country? It is not very difficult to get the Railways going. Until and unless the Government of India comes forward and gives that kind of support it will never ever be viable. There is a mention of PPP model in the Rail Budget but I don‟t know who will come forward to construct over bridges and underpass under the said model. There should be change in the dedicated freight corridor. The Government wants the best freight halt railways. It can never happen unless and until we have more powerful engines.

SHRI KALIKESH N. SINGH DEO: I would like to see the Railways continue for the next 30, 40, 50, 100 or 200 years. And for that, it is essential that we have financially viable Railways. The Railway Minister increased the fares a few days before the Budget. The reason, as he himself has categorically told, is that the Gross Operating Profit of the Railways is a mere six per cent. Certainly, when we compare that to almost a 40 per cent or 45 per cent in Canada, it is an absolute shame. We are going structurally and fundamentally wrong somewhere.

One of the main reasons that we have very high operating costs in the Indian

Railways is the fact that the existing infrastructure suffers from a lack of productivity and transparency. It is more incumbent on the Indian Railways to be more productive, match up to international standards. However, in his entire

Budget speech, I have not heard him even mentioned once of raising productivity.

So, it is absolutely essential that an operational audit is conducted to determine which Divisions in the Indian Railways, which aspects of the Indian Railways conform to the international efficiency standards. In the most trains in the world have a light or a signaling system, which automatically signals to the station manager that the last boggy has passed. But here, in 60 years we have been unable to mechanise even the small matters. Why are we not being able to develop technologies for ourselves? For 4-5 years, important proposals lie with the Indian Railways without taking a decision. The Indian Railways, own very little patents but we talk of technology development. The other way we can increase our operational profits is to utilize our resources optimally. There is no master plan in the Rail budget to boost freight business which has come down to 30 per cent now.

The , started by them, have occupancy of mere 30 per cent. The same Duronto Express can have more stoppages to increase the occupancy. The hon. Railway Minister talks about new technology by putting in bullet trains. Its main aim should have been to create semi-suburbs to major growth centres such

Delhi, Mumbai, , etc. However, the hon. Minister chooses to pick the sector of Delhi-, which is about 500 kms. Cost of creating a bullet train infrastructure is Rs. 150 crore per kilometer. Whereas only Rs.100 crore, I am assuming that it is for a preliminary study and not even a proper study. I keep on stressing the word „productivity‟ because our rate hike to increase Railways financially viability is being completely side-strapped by the fact that the Railway has in-built inefficiencies, which we have not been able to take out in the last 30 years and the poor people of India are paying for the Railway‟s inefficiencies. The hon. Railway Minister chooses to walk the talk of financial scrutiny, why is it that he announced 58 new trains. The Government of Odisha had asked for some major projects as Rs.300 crores for Angul-Duburi-Sukinda Road, mere Rs.100 crore have been given; Khurda Road-, which is an essential lifeline of almost 10 districts in naxal infested areas, a mere Rs.100 crore have been given against a demand of Rs.350 crores and a total project outlay of almost Rs.1900 crores.

Haridaspur-Paradeep and Talcher-Bimalgarh projects are grossly underfunded.

These inefficiencies do not allow me to believe that the hon. Railway Minister is actually trying to improve the financial viability. The hon. Railway Minister talks about bringing a hundred stations up to global standards on FDI and PPP level.

We know that PPP in the Indian Railways has been almost a failure. Hon. Railway

Minister needs to have major reforms done both on the Railway Board level, on the

Railway Department restructuring level and to ensure that the resources that we have right now are harnessed and utilized properly.

SHRI CHANDRAKANT KHAIRE: The hon. Minister has presented a very good Budget, highlighting important issues like sanitation and drinking water etc. He has made an announcement to start Bullet trains in the country which is a welcome step. I urge upon him that the train under this Bullet Train Project should be run via Pune and . I demand that division should be brought under the Central Railway and if it is not possible to do so, a separate zone comprising Vidharbha, Khandesh, North Maharashtra and Marathwada should be created. I also demand that should be started in this area so that the people coming to visit Ajanta-Ellora and Jyotirling can avail the services of this train. There is a need to run a train between Sholapur and Jalgaon. Besides, there is also need to run a direct train between and Tirupati because people of

Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana visit both the pilgrim places. There is a long standing demand to run a train for Nagar-Beed-Parli and another for Jalna and Khamgaon. We had also made a demand to run Diksha Bhoomi Express. So there is a need to pay attention to all of these demands.

SHRI SHARAD TRIPATHI: The Rail Budget presented by the Hon‟ble

Railway Minister is acceptable by the all sections of the society. The recruitment of the women security personnel is a welcome step for the safety of passengers.

SHRI RAM MOHAN NAIDU KINJARAPU: We welcome this Railway

Budget because it has been prepared keeping in view of the financial and time constrains of the railways and with a vision of nation building. All the important matters like passenger facilities, catering services and security issues besides running Bullet train have been mentioned in this Budget. Today, post bifurcation we are facing innumerable problems in the state. So, we need the support of railways to tackle them. We had lot of expectations from the Railway Budget with regard to Andhra Pradesh but we were disappointed a bit. Still we hope that justice will be done with the states in matters of funds and projects. AP Express should be extended a little further so that it touches Guntur and Vishakhapatnam cities before it reaches the Capital. At present, there are four divisions in our state. Our demand is that a separate division comprising the existing four divisions should be created. In this Budget, there is a mention of setting up a new Industrial Corridor from Vishakhapatnam to . I am of the view if this industrial cluster is connected with railway lines, we could enhanced its potentiality. Besides, my demand is that the train running between Gunpur and Naupada should be extended to Vishakhapatnam.

SHRI DEVJI M. PATEL: The Indian Railways connect the entire nation.

This Budget has been presented by keeping in view of the whole country. In fact this Budget will be a milestone in the history of the Indian Railways.

SHRI KADIYAM SRIHARI: Presently, we have six zones after the division of the State. Three divisions are going to Andhra Pradesh and there is also a demand from Maharashtra to add Nanded division to Central Railways. So, we are left with only two divisions. That is why we are asking the Railway Ministry to create a new division at Kazipet. Out of the 29 projects which are there in the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh, 10 are from Telangana region for new lines. The cost of these ten lines is around Rs.4,883 crore. But unfortunately in this Budget only

Rs.240 crore are allocated. So, we request the Railway Minister at least in the

Supplementary Budget to allocate more funds for Telangana projects. With regard to development of railway in the state, our Chief Minister along with MPs from

Telangana met the hon. Prime Minister and submitted list of demands. But unfortunately, these demands have not found place in the Budget. In this Budget, only Rs.5 crore is allocated to the Wagon Manufacturing Unit at Kazipet. So far, work has not yet started on it. We had request for some more new lines, new RoBs and RuBs. But no mention had been made in this Budget. A committee has been constituted in this regard but that committee is confined to the Andhra Pradesh Reorganization Act, 2014, Schedule 13 only. As Telangana is a newly formed state, it requires the attention of the Government of India.

SHRI B.S. YEDIYURAPPA: This Budget is definitely going to assist in building vibrant India under the dynamic leadership of Shri Ji.

There are 12 new projects adding up to nearly 750 km and 13 track-doubling projects approved for , but progress is quite slow. Karnataka was the first State to have come forward to contribute 50 per cent of the railway project cost.

SHRI M.B. RAJESH: This Budget seeks to dismantle the public sector character of the largest public sector enterprise in the world. The whole thrust of this Budget is on FDI and PPP. Despite the fact that the Railways have not been successful in raising substantial resources through PPP routes. Before going for such a massive privatization, the Government should have at least learnt the world- wide experiences of privatization. We have a number of disastrous experiences of privatization of public transport system and railways world over. That is why I feel and our Party feel that PPP and FDI are not going to be the right options. The

Government should enhance budgetary support to the Railways. It is not a wasteful expenditure. The Government is receiving dividend from Railways. So, the Government has a responsibility to finance, support railway from Budget.

Your priority of running a bullet train is wrong one. In view of the fact that this is the time when the Railways is facing serious and severe financial crisis and the Railways need much investment to re-build railway network in the country. The

Government should change its priority. The most dangerous and the most anti- people proposal of this year‟s Railway Budget is the proposal to link future passenger fares and freight rates to fuel prices. This will lead to periodic, automatic and uncontrolled rate hikes in future. My State, Kerala, has been neglected badly and totally by this Railway Budget. A few days back I saw the hon. Railway Minister, in his television bites, saying that the Kerala Government has not acquired enough land for the development of railway projects. But I would like to ask as to what has happened to the coach factory project of Palakkad for which land was made available to the Ministry of Railways two years back. The

Government has not done anything about it. We have been continuously demanding for a new railway zone with Kerala as its headquarters. No land is required for that. So, why is the Government not announcing a separate railway zone with Kerala as its headquarters? I would like to appeal to the hon. Minister to stop all the moves to create more divisions and to bifurcate the Palakkad and

Trivandrum divisions.

SHRI SATISH KUMAR GAUTAM: As per the Government of India and

Hon‟ble Prime Minister‟s policy and their work pattern and as announced in the budget‟s speech, government will give special attention towards completing the pending work and projects. There is an acute shortage of passenger amenities at Aligarh railway station and it is causing a hindrance in providing the stoppage to other important trains at this station.

SHRIMATI SANTOSH AHLAWAT: The budget that has been presented is a progressive and balanced one to ensure safety and security as well as facilities to the common man and to accelerate the country‟s socio-economic development.

It is for the first time that far-flung areas like Meghalaya in North-East would be connected to the country‟s main stream. Through the rail connectivity a provision for a „Railway University has been made for the first time in the budget, which would surely make a unique contribution towards technical and non-technical education. Especial trains are being introduced to promote tourism industry particularly the religious tourism.

SHRI KAPIL MORESHWAR PATIL: I would like to thank to the

Hon‟ble Railway Minister Shri Sadanand Gowdaji that he has fulfil the expectations of the people of the country. The proposed rail route announced during the tenure of UPA government will now become a reality and the people of the country will immensely be benefitted by this. I believe that with the suggestions given by the Hon‟ble Members our Indian Railway will attain the new heights in the next few years.

DR. YASHWANT SINGH: When we want better highways and roads there is an urgent need of high speed trains and bullet trains on rail routes. In this regard, I would like to congratulate the Hon‟ble Prime Minister and the Hon‟ble Railway Minister. Madam Speaker, the Hon‟ble Minister of Railways has announced a number of high speed trains, while Western Uttar Pradesh has been neglected in this budget. Madam, there is no direct train my Nagina Parliamentary

Constituency in Bijnor district. The people of my Constituency have to take the trains for Jammu for Mata Vaishno Devi Darshan and for Banaras from other stations because trains do not have stoppages at these stations. I would request the

Minister of Railways to provide stoppage of 12238, 12332, 12356 at Najibabad station so that people of my Constituency could be benefitted.

SHRIMATI RAMA DEVI: The steps taken by the Hon‟ble Minister of

Railways to strengthen the infrastructure through foreign and private sector investment is the biggest public transport of Indian Railways and these steps will be helpful in providing facility to the people. Five new long distance Jansadharan trains have been introduced and thus the poor and middle class people will be able to travel for long distances. In cities where there was a demand of trains, 5 premium and 6 AC Express trains have been announced which are meant for important cities and thereby the income of Indian Railways will increase. To provide rail facilities in new areas, 18 new surveys have been announced in the budget and as a result of this the people who were deprived of railway facilities will get the same. The operating ratio of our railway is 90 per cent. It means 94 per cent of revenue earned goes for railway operation and maintenance. From remaining 6 per cent, a few is spent on construction of bridges and puliya and thus a meagre amount is spent on rail development. Therefore, the Hon‟ble Minister of

Railways is requested to mobilise revenue from foreign, private sector and other alternative sources which would help in early completion of long pending projects.

Gauge conversion of Ghodasahan is my parliamentary constituency has since been completed and railways is getting more than rupees 1 lakh revenue from this station. I would therefore, request to provide stoppage of Express, Lok

Manya Express, Sadbhavana Express and Mithilanchal Express at Ghodasahan railway station.

DR. HEENA VIJAYKUMAR GAVIT: Maharashtra is a state where first train on the Indian sub-continent steamed off from Mumbai to Thane on April 16,

1853 in Central Railway. So Maharashtra should be given special emphasis. The

Hon‟ble Minister has tried to accommodate many works in the Railway Budget and I appreciate his efforts. I want to mention some of the important matters related to my Parliamentary Constituency for inclusion in Railway Budget. A new line from to Indore, it is a cherished dream of the people of the State of

Maharashtra and . Nadurbar Railway Station may kindly be included in the list of Model Railway Station for modernisation. The work of doubling of Tracks at Nandurbar area is going at a very slow pace. It should be completed at the earliest so that number Goods train and Passengers trains can be increased. SHRI DHARMENDRA YADAV: The people of the country were hopeful that the government will focus in its budget on improvement of railway‟s working capacity and address the problem and corruption. But the government has removed silent on these issues. The budget is not one as it was expected. Not only this budget has neglected the needs of the common man but also there is nothing concrete in this budget for safety and improvement in maintenance of rail network in the entire country. In railways, there are some sectors which are sensitive. The

Government should think of allowing FDI in railways after vast discussions otherwise the trains tracks and platforms will be under the ownership of foreign companies and their sole aim will be limited to earn profits. Madam, the youths of nation are facing unemployment while on the other hand approximately 2.5 lakhs posts are lying vacant in the railways and out of them 1.6 lakhs are directly link to the rail safety. No provision is seen in this budget for filling up of these posts.

SHRI RAM PASWAN: The Railway budget presented by the government is certainly going to lead the country on to the path of development.

The budgetary allocation made for constructing Sankari-Hassanpur, -Hajipur,

Khagaria-Kusheshwar, Hajipur-Sugauli, Vaishali, Sitamarhi- Jainagar-Nirmali via

Susand, Muzzaffarpur-Katra-Oral-Janakpur Road, Arah-Bhabhua Road Kursela-

Bihariganj and Muzzaffarpur-Darbhanga rail lines is negligible. Therefore, I urge upon the Minister of Railways that the funds allocated for completing the said rail line projects should be increased as per the requirement so that the construction work could be completed on time and the inconvenience to the public could be addressed. The allocation of money for constructing rail cum Road Bridge on

River Ganga at Munger is very meagre which needs to be enhanced.

SHRI RABINDRA KUMAR JENA: Post-Independence Indian Railways has undergone many changes both in terms of physical as well as economic fronts.

However, there has been lot of work left unfinished/ not taken up in many parts of our country including Odisha where at least seven districts are yet to come in

Railway map. There has been a lot of Railway projects announced in the past but not taken up and Odisha has been mostly neglected by Railway almost in a systemic way. I have a strong hope that the trend will be reversed in the tenure of this present government.

SHRI BHARTRUHARI MAHTAB: In his maiden budget Railway

Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda has done well to emphasize passengers amenities, an area that received limited attention from his predecessors. Rail

Minister has added 58 new trains to an already unwieldy list. However, Minister has promised a lot more PPP including for the first time, in the actual Railway operations. There is, as yet, no clarity on what projects are to be offered and on what terms. In 2013-2014 the Government had announced that the Railway would raise Rs. 2000 crore through PPP to develop stations, but not a single rupee could be raised. The Railways has met with limited success in attracting private investors to partner in its development. Freight trains chugging at an average speed of 25 kms per hour drag down the economy. Unless freight trains can pick up speed, India will be shackled when dealing with competing economies. Further

I would say that out of 2432 km Rail route of Odisha, 670 km. which is 28% track covering areas like Jharsuguda, Raurkela, Balasore are under South East Railway,

Kolkata. Therefore, these areas including Rayagade should be under East

Coast Railways by creating new divisions at Raurkela/Jharsuguda and another at

Rayagada. One should bear in mind that the money that is allocated in Budget proposal, most of the time is not fully expended and East Coast Railway is an glaring example of it. I hope this year, the money that is allotted for Odisha is spent fully.

SHRI RAHUL KASWAN: Railway Budget 2014-15 is the budget which will lead the development of Railways to its heights. This budget will prove to be a budget to provide better amenities and security. It is people friendly budget.

During the last few years it has been continuously observed that there has been a tendency to announce projects for the states but this time such projects have not been announced and thrust has been given to complete the old projects. As it is evident that to run a Bullet train an amount of rupees 60 thousand crore will be needed. It has been proposed to raise additional funds through domestic and foreign investment. Bikaner-Rewari Passenger Train, which was discontinued due to gauge-conversion has been restarted. Ludhiana-Hissar Passenger Train has been extended upto Sadulpur. Doubling the line between Rewari and Mahendragarh is a fair attempt to double rail line upto Bikaner. On the other hand, the people have got disappointed as their long pending demand to run the train between jodhpur and

Sarai Rohilla, Delhi on daily basis and extend it upto Haridwar has not been included in the Budget. This train should be extended upto Haridwar and run on daily basis. In the last Budget Jodhpur-Kamakhya weekly train was announced which has not been introduced till date. This train should be introduced without any delay. Sealdah-Jodhpur via Churu, Sujangarh premier train announced in the budget should be made operational. Rail Under Bridge should be constructed on

Loharu-Dungergarh, Sadulpur-Hissar route and Ratangarh-Ladnu rail route and

Rail Over Bridge should be constructed on Sadulpur-Pilani – road. There is a long pending demand of laying 60 km long Hissar-Bhadara new railway track.

There is a need to conduct a survey in this regard and to construct this track. The work of gauge-conversion of rail line projects in between Ratangarh-Sardarshahar,

Suratpura-Sadulpur-Hanumangarh should be completed without any further delay.

The gauge conversion of Churu-Seeker-Jaipur rail line should also be started. The proposals to lay new railway line projects Sardarshahar-Hanumangarh, Churu-

Taranagar-Nohar, Bhiwani-Loharu-Pilani-Churu, Sikar-Salasar-Bidasar-Nokha,

Suratgarh-Sardarshahar-Taranagar-Sadulpur should be cleared at an early date.

SHRI P.K. BIJU: Railway budget 2014 paves the way for the private capital and its maximum brunt would be received by the “Aam Admis” of our nation. It declares its dependence on so called public private partnership, private investment including FDI for funding its infrastructural and capacity augmentation projects. The Blatant steep hike in the passenger and freight fares to the tune of

14.2% and 6.5% respectively before the presentation of the railway budget speaks of the undemocratic as well as anti-people modus operandi of the Government.

With the railways turning towards privatization and FDI, the job security, pension and other benefits that used to attract the educated youth in India, is going to be at stake. The Budget has sounded high on Government‟s commitment to safety but has kept absolute silence about filling up around 3 lakh vacancies in the Railways.

Kerala has been a historically neglected region for railway. Take the ambitious project to convert the -Sengottai and Palakkad-Pollachi line into electrified and broad gauge. This project has been bogged down by financial constraints. The

Palakkad-Pollachi line is also waiting allocation of Rs.150 crore for resumption of work started four years ago. Decision to divide the Palakkad division to create

Mysore-Mangalapuram division and Trivandrum to create Thirunelveli division will cut down the revenue generated from these zones. The demand for conversion of railway hospital at Trivandrum to a medical college and a bottling plant at

Trivandrum has also been turned down in the budget. The demand for suburban train service in Kerala has also not been considered.

SHRI R. DHRUVANARAYANA: In the Railway Budget 2014-15, there is a mention about most ambitious projects like Bullet trains, new high speed trains.

The matter of the fact is that there are 676 projects worth of Rs.1, 57, 883 crores sanctioned in last 30 years but only 317 could be completed. There is plan to improve the e-ticket facility from 2,000 to 7,200 tickets per minute but there is no mention about availability of IT infrastructure to implement this facility in time bound manner. There is a mention about recruitment of new 14,000 RPF personnel but in reality, there are about 3,000 positions already vacant and there is no time bound plan to fill the existing vacancies. In the Chamarajanagar

Constituency in Karnataka, there is a wide requirement of Railway infrastructure.

The new line between Chamarajanagar and Bengaluru and new train between the stations via Mysore is viable from the commercial point of view. Hence I urge to give special attention towards the demands of my constituency. I also urge to provide more funds to speed up the new railway line construction from to Chamarajanagar via Kollegal, Malavalli and Kanakpura and to start a new direct train between Bangalore to Chamarajanagar via Mysore. Majority of the daily labourers, women, students and other people are depending on the train between

Bangalore and Chamarajanagar. People can access the medical facilities which exist in the state capital if this new train gets implemented at the earliest.

Chamarajanagar District is known for its rich forest cover and cultural diversity which makes Chamarajanagar district best suited destination for Eco-Tourism.

New direct train from Bangalore to Chamarajanagar will help to boost the Eco-

Tourism activities. SHRIMATI P.K. SHREEMATHI TEACHER: The budget lacks vision.

Even after an increase of 14.2 per cent in passenger fares and 6.5 per cent in freight tariff, the Railways had to spend 94 paise for every rupee earned, leaving surplus of just six paise. Bullet trains will require new infrastructure worth Rs.60,000 crore for a short distance of 500 kilometres, the high speed train can make do with upgrading the existing network to allow speeds between 160 and 200 kmph. For the first time, Kerala has been totally ignored in the current Railway Budget. The lone relief given to Kerala is a passenger train from Baindur in Karnataka to

Kasargode. Another pittance is a survey for a new railway line from Kanjangode to Panathoor in Karnataka border. Budget has completely ignored the demands put forward by the Kerala Government and the and Palakkad

Railway Divisions. There is a total neglect towards the proposed (i) Kanjikkode

Coach Factory and (ii) the Wagon Component Factory in Cherthala. The newly formed Tiruvananthapuram-Chengannoor suburban project also could not find place in the budget. The Minister has announced 58 new trains and extended the route of 11 trains in the new budget. The projects are, the doubling up of lines from

Ernakulam via Kottayam and Alleppey, electrification of Shornur-Mangalapuram route and Conversion of Palakkad-Pollachi, Kollam-Shenkottai routes broad guage line. Due to shortage of funds, during the last 11 years, the doubling up work in the Alleppey, Kottayam routes could be completed only for just 51 kilometres.

The Shornur-Mangalapuram line‟s electrification can expected to be completed only by 2016. Adequate fund allocation has not been done for conversion of metre-guage to broad guage lines from Punalur to Shenkottai. There is an urgent need for installation of modern signaling system. The State‟s demand for development of the Kochuveli terminal and Coaching Depots at and

Kottayam are hanging fire. Earlier assurances from Railways on the wagon- making unit in Alappuzha, allocation for the Angamaly-Sabari rail line to put

Sabarimala, the great pilgrimage centre were not fulfilled in the Budget. The

Chennai Bangalore-Ernakulam-Thiruvananthapuram high speed rail corridor did not figure in the Budget. The State‟s effort to woo the Railways to partly finance the Rs.3330.78 crore Rapid Rail Transit System was trampled down. The State and the Railway authorities were looking towards materializing Railway Medical

College and OPD and Diagnostic Centre sanctioned for the State capital in 2009-

10 and the Bottling plant for making available drinking water to the commuters.

The dream project of Kerala called Kannur Airport is under construction. There is an urgent need for construction of a railway link to the upcoming airport. This request of the Kerala Government for construction of Kannur-Mattannoor railway line is pending for the last three years. As per the survey report, an amount of

Rs.237 crore is required for the proposed Kannur-Mattannoor 23 kilometre railway line. Our railway tracks should be made free from the nauseating smell of human waste . The project of bio-toilets should be implemented at the earliest. Air conditioned coaches of Kerala bound trains are outdated and infested with rats and cockroaches. The sliding glass of the toilets of the coaches have been missing. It results in lot of inconvenience to the passengers, especially the lady passengers.

The toilets are not cleaned at various stations. Water is not available pipes and taps are missing in the toilets. Window shutters do not close properly. Coaches of the Kerala bound trains should be replaced with new coaches. Warm clothes issued to the passengers are never washed/dry cleaned. It leads to spread of diseases using such unclean warm clothes.

SHRI DHANANJAY MAHADIK: The people of Maharashtra are not happy with this Budget. Mumbai and Maharashtra have played a very important role in the economy of the country. However, the budgetary provisions for new or old railway lines in Maharashtra have not been commensurate with the importance of this State. Several new trains were proposed to be started for several districts in

Maharashtra but no budgetary provisions for the same has been made in the

Budget. All the stations in Mumbai are very crowded. Therefore, more ATV machines and escalators should be installed there. There is a need to provide multi-level parking at Railway stations in Mumbai due to them being situated in very congested areas. CCTV cameras should be installed in ladies coaches.

Proposals of laying Pune-Nasik and Pune-Miraj-Kolhapur double railway lines need to be reconsidered. Budgetary provisions be made for Karad-Chiplun and

Baramati-Lonand railway lines. The Mumbai-Bengaluru industrial corridor train announced in the Budget should be run via Kolhapur so that the development of Kolhapur-Satara region could be ensured through this train. Kolhapur railway station should be developed as a model railway station. Budgetary provision should be made for Kolhapur-, Kolhapur-Ahmedabad, Kolhapur-Konkan and Kolhapur-Mumbai fast train in the supplementary demands of the budget. The hike in passenger fares and freight rates needs to be rolled back.

SHRI B. SENGUTTUVAN: The aspirational projects, such as the introduction of the Bullet Train, Diamond Quadrilateral Railway lines and participation of private sector are the highlights of the Rail Budget. The nearest major railway junction to Vellore is Katpadi. Gauge conversion work on Katpadi-

Villupuram Sector and plying of more Express Trains bound for the Southern

Destinations in Tamil Nadu on this route would decongest the Chennai-Erode line.

Overhead Railway Bridge at Ariyur Level Crossing in Vellore-Villupuram Line in

Vellore Corporation would provide an easy route to the famed Golden Temple situated in Ariyur. Stopping of Superfast Express Trains, Inter-city Express:

Chennai-Coimbatore [Train No.12679 and the down train 12980]

Tiruvananthpuram-Chennai Express [Train No.12695 and the down train 12676] and Chennai-Banglore Intercity Express [Train No.12609 and down Train 12610] at Gudiyattam. Gudiyattam is a town with business activities of manufacturing lungis, matches and beedis and having contacts with businessmen in Bangalore,

Tirvandrum and Coimbatore. But there is no proper rail-connectivity exists for the people of Guidyattam to proceed to Bangalore, Coimbatore and Trivandrum. The stopping of these trains at Gudiyattam would go a long way in raising the revenue for the Railways. Since Banglore is situated off National Highway No.46, the train services to this town is a must. Gudiyattam Town in about 155 kms away from

Chennai and not within the radius of 150 KMs. So the train travellers narrowly miss the eligibility for issue of Season Tickets. Season Ticket facility made available to them. Katpadi Railway Station which received large influx of passengers coming of Vellore as tourists, pilgrims to golden temple and patients to

CMC Hospitals and students to VIT Univ is not adequately equipped with amenities to handle this kind of passenger influx. Therefore, the Katpadi station may be upgraded and modernized. A help desk may set up at the Railway station to help the patients and pilgrims.

SHRI K.H. MUNIYAPPA: The government has not announced even a single train for the birth place of Mahatma Gandhi in the Budget. Provision for railway coach factory in be made. In the present Railway Budget there is no mention of any new rail coach factory or wagons factory. The most important area that I would like to highlight in the august House is that we do not find any emphasis by the present government to encourage public sector undertakings for railway in the country. Industrial growth is very important for economic growth.

Unfortunately, during the earlier NDA regime, the Public Sector Undertakings like

Udaipur, Lakshmi Hotel, Bangalore Ashoka Hotel – these were the public properties – had been sold. They had tried to sell the Ashoka Hotel in Delhi also but we stopped it. I would request the hon. Minister to be careful in handling the

Indian Railways. He cannot sell the properties of India in the name of public private partnership. Try to get money from external sources at a simple rate of interest. The State Governments are also ready to participate in these. After independence, 13,000 km of railway lines were constructed by the Congress and

UPA Governments, and 6,000 km of unigauge were made by the UPA

Government. For completing the projects which are pending, the Railway Minister wants Rs.5 lakh crore. The hon. Minister has to find out a mechanism as to how to get money from external sources. You should take care of all the states equally.

SHRI P.C. MOHAN: First of all, I would like to congratulate the hon.

Minister for presenting his maiden and realistic Budget under the able and efficient leadership of Shri Narendra Modiji. I welcome the suburban rail connectivity in

Bangalore City. At present, there are 25 passengers/commuters trains taking care of one lakh people coming to Bangalore. The RITEs had given a report about two years back stating that about five to six lakh people will be using this suburban train connectivity within five years, if it is connected properly to the Bangalore

City. The RITES had also projected an investment Rs.9,000 crore for this project, which the then Government had also agreed to share 50 per cent of its cost. A third line should be created between Bangalore and Whitefield and Bangalore and

Yashwantpur. Doubling should also be done from Bangalore to Hosur Section.

Bangalore City Railway Station and Yashwantpur Railway Station need to be upgraded. Both these stations are over-utilized and fully congested. The hon.

Minister has announced Baiyyappauahalli Coaching Terminal. It is a very good news for the people of Bangalore City. There is a need to create halt between

Whitefield and Krishnarajapuram station. There is no cabin or platform. I request you to make a railway platform immediately. It comes in my constituency in

Whitefield. Bangalore is notorious for traffic jams. For this traffic reason only, we are trying to bring suburban train, metro and other things. Parcel traffic business is worth Rs.1 lakh crore. The share of the Railways is only Rs.800 crore. The

Railways have increased the fare by 55 per cent in the last six months, resulting further loss of parcel traffic.

SHRI JAI PRAKASH NARAYAN YADAV: Indian Railways is the symbol of India‟s unity. I want to express my condolences regarding the lives lost in the train accidents especially involving Rajdhani train during the past one month. We should learn a lesson from these accidents and resolve that no more accidents should occur. Increase in passenger fares burdens the passengers. How long shall the passengers be subjected to this hike. Ours is a poor country suffering from inflation. The railways earned profits of crores of rupees during the tenure of the then Minister of Railways, Laluji. In each railway Budget the passenger fare was decreased by Rs.1. The railways should became self- sufficient. The railways should carry more freight and passenger amenities should also be increased. Hon. Laluji‟s tenure was called the golden period and he was termed a management guru. The train originating from Patna instead of stopping at Anand Vihar railway station went directly to Delhi. Garibrath was started for the poor. What are your schemes for the poor? The Government talks of Bullet trains. It is a big injustice to talk of Bullet trains in a poor country like India. In place of one Bullet train the Government can run 200 Rajdhani trains.

Government should run small trains. Wheels and Axle manufacturing facilities should be set up in Dariyapur as well as engine manufacturing unit in Madhepura,

Bihar. DMRO office has not been opened even now in Bhagalpur. No fund has been set aside for rail bridge over the river Ganga in Mungher. No announcement has been made regarding the manufacturing unit to be set up in Jamalpur- famous in Asia, though it was announced earlier. Wheels and Axle Factory and a cement factory should be set up in Banka. Howrah-Bhagalpur Janshatabdi should be introduced. New Inter-city should be started from Banka. Vikramshila Express should be extended upto Banka. Necessary halts should be provided and several level crossings should be provided. Train stoppages should be provided at

Sultanganj, level crossing should also be provided and the station should be declared as a model station. Rajdhani should go via Bhagalpur. No funds have been provided for even a single new railway line. You have forgotten Bihar, UP,

Odisha, . The Railways should ensure cleanliness in trains, safety and security should be increased, catering should improve, reservation should be streamlined and youth should be given employment. Indian Railways is the lifeline and soul of the country, therefore, it should be pro-poor.

KUMARI SHOBHA KARANDLAJE: I had requested the Hon‟ble Minister for Railways to consider the following pending rail projects of my Parliamentary

Constituency for inclusion in Rail Budget 2014-15 : Introduction of a new Intercity

Express between Chikmagalur-Bangalore –(Daily). Creation of Mangalore

Railway Division. Mangalore should at any cost, be separated from the Palghat

Division, Southern Railways and included in the South .

Introduction of a Garib Rath between Udupi-Mumbai or Mangalore. Extension of track doubling from Mangalore to Surathkal via Ullal, to Karwar via Kundapur.

Introduce a new train „Garib-Rath‟ to Mumbai from Mangalore via Udupi. I have few suggestions to improve the railway network in my Parliamentary Constituency

Udupi-Chikmagalur : The completion of Second Phase from Chikmagalur to

Salkeshpura would provide direct connectivity to Mangalore. The survey of

Kadur-Sakalespura railway project has been completed. However, land has to be acquired and the Ministry of Environment & Forests has to give environmental clearance for this important project. The Bangalore-Mangalore express train should be extended till Kundapur via Udupi because Udupi-Manipal is a educational hub and also it covers lots of religious spots. The Bangalore-Karwar train route needs to be re-routed via Arasikere. There is an urgent need for the upgradation of Birur,

Chikmagalur, Kadur and Kundapura railway stations as well as several other stations in coastal Karnataka and Chikmagalur district. Hubli-Ankola new broad gauge line is a dream project for the region and also the Vasai-Virar route to be connected to via North Karnataka. Passenger train between

Shimoga-Birur to be extended to Chikjajur. Renovation and opening of computerized PRS Centre and stoppage of trains at Honnavar Railway station.

Proposal for introducing a new train between Virar-Vasai to Mangalore.

Introduction of a new passenger train between Subramanya-Mangalore-

Kundapura-Madagaon-Hubli.

*SHRI SHER SINGH GHUBAYA: Punjab has figured the first time in the

Rail Budget. Some new trains have been started in Punjab. The State needs more trains. Shatabdi train connected to Bathinda should be extended to Ferozepur, an important historical place. Chandigarh- Ferozepur train should be extended to

Fazilka. Doubling of several lines passing through Punjab is the need of the hour.

Doubling of the line from Delhi to Abohar should be extended further for 20 to 25 kms till Bathinda and 80 kms more till Ferozepur. Another trade route should be opened up with Pakistan through Hussainiwala which will give a fillip to trade between the two nations. If Ferozepur-Amritsar train link work is completed on a

25 km. stretch, it will reduce the distance between the two cities by 100 kms and will also provide long-distance rail connectivity with and Gujrat. Rail connectivity should be provided to Hazoor Sahib, Amritsar Sahib and Haridwar

* Original in Punjabi from various places in Punjab like Ferozepur, Fazilka and Amritsar. The train to

Nanded Sahib should also ply through historical, and religious places like Mansa and a spacious railway station should be constructed there. The stoppage of the train Nanded Sahib via Sarai Rohilla, Delhi which does not stop at Malout and in

Mansa district be provided to the people of this area. All unmanned railway crossings must be upgraded into manned railway crossings. A committee should be constituted on the issue of providing new manned railway crossings wherever needed.

SHRI AKSHAY YADAV: This is my maiden speech. The people had great expectation from this Budget but they were belied. Fares were hiked before the Budget. Has the hon. Minister ever seen how passenger travel in a general coach? It seems that the coach is not full of passengers but hay. Each express train should have atleast four general coaches for the poor. Will the hon. Minister make arrangements for free travel of poor patients for going to Delhi for treatment?

Uttar Pradesh has not been given anything in this Budget. Whether the hon.

Minister will resume giving license to the coolies? There are 160 projects in the country started in the past 30 years which are yet to be completed. I would like to bring three such projects to your notice. First, in 1984, late Shri Madhavrao

Scindia ji had sanctioned the Guna-Itawa railway line. Second, about 15 years ago the then NDA Prime Minister, Shri laid the foundation stone of -Itawa railway line via Fatehabad, at Bateshwar. The hon. Minister should give special attention to this. In 1996, the then hon. Prime Minister H.D. Deve

Gowdaji had sanctioned a railway line. Then in 2004, the then hon. President Shri

A.P.J. Abdul Kalam had laid the foundation stone of Itawa-Mainpuri railway line.

With the passing of time cost increases. Therefore, I request the hon. Minister to expeditiously complete the previous projects before taking up new ones.

Firozabad which is district headquarters should be developed as a model station and stoppages should be provided for Howrah Express as well as Lucknow and

Kanpur Shatabdi trains.

SHRI R. PARTHIPAN: I have been representing Theni Parliamentary

Constituency as its newly elected member by the blessings of Honourable Chief

Minister of Tamil Nadu Dr. Puratchi Thalaivi AMMA. I made a fervent appeal to your goodself to implement the gauge conversion of -Bodinayakanur Rail

Track path at the earliest. Bodinayakanur is one of the oldest municipality of

Tamil Nadu commensurating from British period and centre for various

Agricultural produce like Tea, Coffee, Cardamom and spices. It is a successful revenue yielding section of Railway Ministry. This is the last meter gauge in

Madurai Division to take up gauge conversion at the estimated cost of Rs.218 crores from January, 2011. But there is no substantial allocation to this section in the ensuing Railway Budget by the successive Ministers. Virtually there is no work done in this section for the past four years. To fulfill the people‟s demand and the desire of our leader Dr. Puratchi Thalaivi AMMA I am constrained to make this appeal to your goodself to fulfill the long pending demand of the people of that area in the ensuing budget itself by generously allotting fund to speed up the work.

This is one of the prestigious routes of Southern Railway and income yielding also.

The train was operated in this section successfully for the past 83 years and it was stopped to fulfill the gauge conversion policy. It is of national importance to speed up the project at the earliest without any further delay. If the project is implemented this section can be used as a loop line for parking of trains as a yard since Madurai Station became very congested and have no scope for expansion.

Thus, implementation of the project expeditiously will be fruitful for public, traders, and Railways.

SHRI DINESH KASHYAP: The present time schedule of 18006-18007

Howrah-Jagdalpur-Howrah Samleshwari express originating from Jagdalpur headquarters and 18211-18212 Durg-Jagdalpur-Durg tri-weekly express train is not convenient for the people of Bastar. The train should be started from Jagdalpur at around 6.00 am and 18211-18212 should depart from Jagdalpur at around 5-6 pm. There is no 2AC coach in 18006-18007 Howrah-Jagdalpur-Howrah Express.

In view of the public convenience approval may be given to add one 2AC coach in

18006-18007and one 3AC coach and an additional sleeper coach in 18447-18448

Hirakhand Express. Vishakhapattanam to Delhi bound 12807-12808 Samta

Express should be run from Jagdalpur at least twice in a week. Works related to open computerized reservation Centres in Kirandul, Sukma, Bijapur and Narayanpur may be included in the ensuing action plan. Overbridges should be constructed on National Highway 30 on Vishakhapattanam-Kirandul rail route and on Awarabhatta Highway near Dantewada district headquarters. Immediate action may be taken to carry out the necessary works including platform extension, shed construction, additional passenger waiting room-cum-VIP lounge, overbridge, drinking water and healthcare facilities and GRP station facility at Jagdalpur

Railway station. The construction work of long awaited Dalli-Rajhara-Jagdalpur rail line which have been accorded the status of economic rail line of Chattisgarh may be started from both sides. Rail line from Jagdalpur to Kondagaon be laid on priority basis.

SHRI AJAY MISRA TENI: I stand to support the Rail Budget. Hon‟ble

Minister for Railways has tried to facilitate the travel by rail across the country through Diamond Quadrilateral Railway line. Modi Government will also play a vital role in preventing the price rise through rails. The scheme of gauge conversion in my Parliamentary constituency Lakhimpur Kheri in UP is still incomplete. I would like that the broadgauge work at Lakhimpur be completed and railway barriers be installed at unmanned railway crossings and a new rail line be constructed upto Bichhiya via Palia Nighasan. A new train each from Lucknow and Bareilley junction may be started for Dudhwa National Park and a Shatabdi train is also required between Sitapur and . Century train which runs between Lucknow and Baliya should be extended upto Tikunia and all the trains running in Gonda-Mailani division should be given stoppage at Khairatiya and

Majhra station. I congratulate the Rail Minister for this rail Budget and also extend my support to this Budget.

SHRI RATTAN LAL KATARIA: Job-oriented and growth-oriented vision has been there in the budget. Bullet train to Fast train have been covered in the budget. It is going to be a progressive budget for the country. At present, train run for various states from my constituency Ambala. I demand that a special train would be introduced from Varanasi to Jalandhar in the name of Sant Guru

Ravidass ji Maharaj. A provision has been made in the budget to make 100 stations as world class stations. Rail coach factory should be set up in Jagadhari along with Pinjore.

SHRI BIRENDRA KUMAR CHOUDHARY: I support the Rail Budget.

There are several problems pertaining to the railways in Madhubani district of

Bihar State. Conversion to broad gauge from Sikri to Nirmali has been on progress for many years. Conversion from Jhajharpur junction to Laukhan is running with slow speed. They should be done expeditiously. There is a need of a superfast train from Jayanagar to Mumbai. Garibrath and Swatantra Senani train should be run upto Jayanagar. A new train is needed from Sitamarhi to Jayanagar via

Laukhan upto Nirmali.

SHRI PREM DAS RAI: I would like to make three points regarding

Railway Budget. Firstly, Sevoke-Rangpo is a very important project as it will bring Sikkim on the Railway map of India for the first time in history. The project report was prepared and approved in 2008. The work is delayed owing to various factors like environmental clearances. Currently, the only connectivity Sikkim has with the rest of the country is NH 31A, and people of Sikkim suffer due to this infrastructure deficit. I request the Government of expedite the process of clearances and pave way for railway connectivity to the people of Sikkim at the earliest. The second point I would like to make is regarding budget allocation.

Only Rs. 50 crores have been allocated to this project which would be grossly insufficient considering the project cost of Rs. 3,375 crores. I request the Hon‟ble minister to kindly look into this. The last point is with regard to Mountain Sikkim.

Protection of ecological environment has to be an essential concern in the design of the railway lines in these regions. Adverse impact on ecological environment has to be kept minimal.

SHRI H. D. DEVEGOWDA: I would like to draw the attention to paragraph No. 19 of the Railway Budget wherein it is said that during the last 10 years, 99 new railway projects worth Rs. 60,000 crores were sanctioned out of which only one project is completed till date. What is the source of raising the resources? I am not supporting or opposing it. When I was heading the UF

Government. The Indian economy was growing at a fast rate. If the Railways had to keep ahead of the demand for transportation, rail infrastructure had to be developed in advance and at a high rate. The travelling public wants more facilities. The issue is the overall development. How could anybody go to North

Eastern States, unless you provide infrastructure like the Railways? Unless you develop it, nobody would go there and you cannot expect the returns. Now, you have the PPP model or the FDI route. At the same time, in several areas so far as inviting FDI is concerned, a little more care must be taken. One railway line is pending for the last 20 years, for which we laid the foundation stone – Hassan to

Bangalore, which connects Mangalore, the major port, and also the Chennai major port. Nothing has been done in this regard. For 14 years we have been demanding to connect two major ports of Chennai and Mangalore. But I was not able to get any result. Everyone, irrespective of any political party, is demanding further development of railways. Attention should be given on the issue of safety and

ROBs. We have still not completed the line up to Srinagar. We want to create more jobs, more facilities. I welcome FDI in railways.

SADHVI NIRANJAN JYOTI: Thank you very much, hon. D.V.

Sadananda Gowda ji for making an announcement regarding running nine bullet trains in the country. Kindly include my following demands in the budget by considering them sympathetically. A train from Allahabad to Mumbai to and fro via Fatehpur- Kanpur be run on a daily basis. An inter-city be run from Kanpur to

Allahabad to and fro. A shuttle be run from Kanpur to Allahabad to and fro. A new rail line be constructed from Uchahar Raibareli to Chitrakoot via Fatehpur-

Banda. Bindki be connected to the new railway line from Etawah via Auraiya, Bhognipur, Ghatampur, Jahanabad. Durga Devi temple be connected to the railway line by constructing district headquarters Hamirpur railway station while turning the railway line a little bit from Kanpur to Banda. One shuttle be run from

Kanpur to Banda in the afternoon. Uttar Pradesh Sampark Kranti be introduced on daily basis from Nizamudding to Manikpur. Doubling and electrification of Jhansi-

Allahabad railway line be made. Doubling and electrification of Kanpur-Banda rail line be made. ROB be constructed at all level crossings falling on Hawrah-

New Delhi rail track.

SHRI BABULAL CHOUDHARY: A broad gauge railway line from Agra to Etawah was announced during the Prime Ministership of hon‟ble Shri Atal

Bihari Vajpayee (1999-2000). Railway Board sanctioned Rs. 214.00 crore for the project, still the project could not be completed. The project is still pending after a period of 15 years. I would like to request hon‟ble Minister of Railways that the project should be completed without any delay so that common people can be benefitted from the project. Bateshwar, despite being a historical place, the department of Railway has not made it a railway station. A railway station should be constructed at Bateshwar and should be named Bateshwar Atal station or Atal

Bateshwar station so that people can ever remember him. Fatehpur Sikri is a world famous tourist place. Fatehpur Sikri station should be developed as a standard station and an air-conditioned waiting hall should be constructed. All the superfast trains should be given stoppage at Fatehpur Sikri station. A go down should be constructed at Runakata which is approximately 25 Km. away from Agra.

Karnataka Rajdhani, Trivendrum Rajdhani, Bangalore Rajdhani and Sampark

Kranti Rajdhani superfast trains should be provided stoppage at Agra station because Agra is a historical tourist place.

SHRI K. N. RAMACHANDRAN: The Railways Vision-2020 document envisages the elimination of all the un-manned level crossing. As on April 2014 there are 1156 unmanned level crossings in its network. I appreciate the hon.

Railway Minister‟s intention to remove all the unmanned level crossing by allocation more money for this purpose. Safety of the passengers is mandatory and it must be given top priority. There has been several instances of theft, robbery etc. in the moving trains, especially, in the nights. There is a need to post sufficient

RPF personnel on the trains during nights so that such instances do not recur.

Coming to infrastructure development, the „Diamond Quadrilateral High Speed

Rail Network will prove to be the backbone of our country‟s rail network.

Introduction of high speed bullet train is also a welcome initiative. I would like to request the Minister of Railways that the bullet train should be brought to Chennai in the next phase. We hope that the hon. Minister would soon take a decision to handover the MRTS network in Chennai to the Rail Corporation.

Sriperumbudur is a piligrimage centre. Sriperumbudur is the major hub for industries wherein more than the lakh floating population stay. I would request the hon. Railway Minister to sanction a new railway line project from Tambaram to Sriperumbudur, connecting Bengaluru. I would request the hon. Minister to introduce a new express train in the as Amma Express from Chennai to Delhi. I would request the hon. Minister to pay attention and allocate adequate sums of money to complete the on-going gauge conversion, electrification and other projects immediately for the benefit of the people of Tamil Nadu.

SHRI KRUPAL BALAJI TUMANE: One passenger train is operational from Ramtek to Nagpur should be extended to Butibori to avoid interchange to the next train at Nagpur. Three years prior, UPA Government had announced to start

Nagpur-Delhi Duronto Exp but still this demand has not been fulfilled.

SHRI E. AHAMED: This is the first time after the Independence of the country that such a raw deal has been given to the State of Kerala in the Railway

Budget. The State has been completely wiped out from the railway. Since

Independence, both passenger and freight traffic has increased by 15 times. The railway tracks are under severe pressure resulting in frequent accidents. Building financial resources against the backdrop of aging track, rolling stock and cracking infrastructure calls for modernisation of railways. There is a pressing need to increase productivity in Railways so as to reduce the cost of operations. Large number of projects are pending resulting in cost escalation. We need to prioritise railway projects and ensure their timely completion. There is nothing for Kerala in the rail budget. Kerala has got only one passenger train – that too covering a distance of about 40 kms. SHRI : I would like to draw the attention of the hon‟ble Minister to the Allahabad district, where several works of railway are lying pending due to wrong policies of UPA Government. Broadening work of

Allahabad-Lucknow railway track is also pending. In my Parliamentary constituency Phulpur, work related to construction of over bridge in place of dozens of railway level crossings under Prayag junction etc. has not been completed. My other demands are as follows: Duranto Express running between

Allahabad to Mumbai and vice versa may kindly be run on daily basis. A special chair car should be introduced between Allahabad to Lucknow, Jammu Tawi

Express should be run from Allahabad in place of Kanpur, Delhi-Kanpur Shatabdi

Express should be extended to Allahabad, Rail coach factory and Railway

University should be set up in Allahabad, Allahabad, Prayag and Rambagh

Junctions should be developed as world class stations, Metro Train should be introduced in Allahabad. A new train should be introduced from Allahabad to

Bangalore and Allahabad to Ahmedabad. A new Duranto train should be introduced between Allahabad and , Tirth Yatri Express train should be run upto Tirthraj Prayag (Allahabad ). There is a narrow guage line between

Nagbhid to Nagpur, its conversion to broad gauge has been sanctioned out due to paucity of funds said work is lying pending. It will provide alternative route to several places including Gondia Chandrapur after conversion. DR. SHRIKANT EKNATH SHINDE: Hon. Railway Minister has provided a balanced Budget for the Railways. Kalyan-Nagar Malshej Railway project which is lying pending for the last several years, be commenced at the earliest. This project will join all the four regions of Maharashtra states namely

Vidarbha, Marathwada, Western Maharashtra and Konkan providing an impetus to industrial development of the region. The Kalyan railway station should be upgraded as a terminus on the Central Railway which will provide connectivity for

South, North and East bound trains. The Kalyan Vashi local route which is used by local people for daily commute to work, education or business should be introduced. Panvel-Diva-CST local services should be started connecting semi- urban areas to the main circuit with a better frequency of trains. New Konkan bound trains from Kalyan should be started.

SHRI BADRUDDIN AJMAL: This rail budget will benefit poor people.

You have brought good projects. Some measures should be taken for safety and security of girls, who travel lakhs of miles by train to help them complete their education. Some concession to girls belonging to poor families should be given by giving them special consideration. You have announced good schemes for North-

East. Its pending projects should be considered. Railway connection from Manipur to Silchar should be started. Assam sector of BG line between Bongaigaon and

Jogighopa should be completed. railway station should be converted as per international standard. Rail connection between Fakiragram and Dhubri should be reopened, a new train from Jogighopa to Megadar should be introduced, meter gauge starting from Bongaigaon to rest of Assam and from Rangia to North

Lakhimpur should be converted into broad gauge. Broad gauge work in Silchar should be completed and Silchar to Karimganjh, Badarpur should also be included in it.

SHRI P.P. CHAUDHARY: This budget is a revolutionary budget for the development of the country. In 2000-2001, per passenger loss was only 10 paise per kilometre. But in 2012-2013, it has reached to 23 paise. If we want to complete the ongoing projects or the projects which have been sanctioned 30 years back, then we need Rs. 5 lakh crore. This means that in a period of 10 years, we are in a position to complete these projects. Then it comes to Rs. 50,000 crore per year for ongoing projects. For the last 30 years, 676 projects were sanctioned and at that relevant time, those projects were worth Rs. 1,57,000 crore. Now, out of those projects, only 317 projects could be completed. Still, for the last 30 years, 359 projects remain incomplete and in the process of completion. At least we need Rs.

1,82,000 crore. For the last 10 years, 99 new line projects worth Rs. 60,000 crore were sanctioned. I fail to understand that only one project could be completed and four projects are as old as of 30 years. So far as the social obligation is concerned, for 2013-2014, the Railways have spent Rs. 20,000 crore for social obligation. The present Budget is striking a balance between the social obligation and the commercial viability. With a view to achieving the international standards and development of the country, high priority has been given by our Railway Minister for safety in the Railways, capacity augmentation in train operations, and improving amenities and services for passengers. So far as the speed of trains is concerned, a provision has been made for bullet trains. That will cost to the exchequer about Rs. 60,000 crore. The track has already been identified long back, that is Mumbai-Ahmedabad. A provision has been made for high speed trains, having a speed of 160 to 200 kilometres, Diamond Quadrilateral Network of High speed Rail, freight corridor, new lines, Doubling, 3rd & 4th line and Gauge

Conversion Projects, list of new trains and extension of existing trains. Jansadharan

Trains, Premium Trains, AC Express Trains and so many other trains have been provided. For the first time 40 per cent increase has been made in the Budgetary provisions for the purpose of passenger amenities, station management, catering, cleanliness, safety and security, rail tourism, revamping of reservation system, skill development, innovations incubation centre, coal connectivity, port connectivity and connectivity to remote areas. About 29 railway projects for Andhra Pradesh and Telangana have been sanctioned at an estimated cost of Rs.20,680 crore. In case of solar energy – all rooftop spaces of railway stations and other railway buildings are being utilised for the solar energy. Leveraging Railway PSU resources; private investment in rail Infrastructure through domestic and foreign direct investment; and the public-private partnership for future projects are the three important railway sectors. All this resource mobilization is for the future projects and gathering more reserves for coal connectivity. Sir, I am coming from

Pali District of Rajasthan. which is a very backward desert district. So far as the connectivity through rail is concerned – I have submitted a detailed representation to the hon. Railway Minister and he also promised me that he would look into the matter. So far as Bilara and Bar-Jodhpur track is concerned, the Railway Board has already accepted the survey way back in 2009. A sum of Rs.204 crore has already been earmarked for completion of this project.

DR. K. GOPAL: I would like to congratulate Hon‟ble Minister of Railways for early completion of already approved projects. It is unfortunate that in the last

10 years out of 99 new line projects sanctioned worth of Rs.60,000 crore only one has been completed. The Diamond Quadrilateral high speed rail network would prove beneficial to the country. The pace of conversion project between

Thiruvarur to Karaikudi is very slow because of inadequate funds. Thiruthurai

Poondi-Agasthiyampalli (Vedaranyam) line having 20 small bridges and culverts should be expedited. Valnkanni-Vascodagma and Karaikal-Mumbai Lokmanya

Tilak weekly trains should be extended as daily services. Railway overbridge at level crossing No.48 near Akkaraipettai between Nagapattinam to Nagore line should be constructed and a new train service be introduced from Thiruvarur to

Chennai. Safety of all the passenger trains should be ensured.

SHRI P. KUMAR: I support the Railway Budget 2014-15. This Budget is providing a vision for the future, with the Diamond Quadrilateral High Speed Rail Network, High Speed Bullet Trains etc. The main focus of this Budget is to complete the on-going projects. The vision to make the Indian Railways the largest freight carrier in the world, is laudable. It is appreciable to attract FDI in railway projects and also PPP models, to complete the projects. Safety of rail passengers is important and the railways should install Anti Collision Devices

(ACD) in the entire railway network, introduce Train Protection Warning System to eliminate accidents due to human error. Proper maintenance of bridges is necessary. Two lane underpasses should be constructed in three sections of railway line viz Chennai-Trichy, Trichy-Karur and Trichy-Dindigul. A coach factory at Golden Rock, Trichy should be set up. New survey to find out the feasibility of having a railway line between Thanjavur and Pudukkottai via

Gandarvakkottai should be carried out. Significant funds should be allotted for

Villupuram-Dindigul Doubling Project. New Train Services between

Tiruchirappalli-Bengaluru-Tiruchirappali; Pudukkottai-Tiruchirappalli-Chennai

(Day Express); Tiruchirappalli-Chennai Tiruchirappalli (Duranto-Type Express);

Tiruchirappalli-Madurai-Tirunelveli-Nagercoil-Kanyakumari Express,

Tiruchirappalli Tirupati (Day Express) should be introduced. Train

No.22627/22628 Intercity Express may be stopped at manaparai for a minute or so.

All the trains passing through Srirangam may be allowed to be stopped at

Srirangam, the famous pilgrimage centre. Train No.16107/16108 Mangalore

Express and other Express trains may be stopped at Jeeyapuram and Pettavathalari stations. Trains 12605/12606 Pallavan Express may be stopped at Kerranpur

Railway Stations which were announced as Adharsh railway stations should be upgraded and sufficient funds should be provided for this purpose. In Trichy city near Maris Theatre an ROB (No.17) which is in a very dilapidated condition may be dismantled and a new ROB may be constructed there and Pudukkottai town between Rasavayal and Thiruvappur also.

SHRIMATI R. VANAROJA: I support the initiatives of Union

Government which will lead for growth of railways and economic development through rail connectivity. Initiatives such as Bullet trains, Diamond quadrilateral network project, safety of women passengers, e-ticketing are well appreciated.

Train service between Tiruvannamalai and Chennai should be restored and extented upto Vellore and Villupuram. Puduchcherry-Howrah Express train should be given stoppage at Tiruvannamalai and a new train service from

Tiruvannamalai to Jolarpet Junction via Chengram should be started. A railway hospital should be set up in Jolarpettai. Chalukya Express (Train No. 110006) between Puduchchery and Bengaluru should be made functional on daily basis.

Frequency of passenger train services between Villupuram and Katpadi during day time should be increased. Parcel office services in Tiruvannamalai, Tirukkovilur and Vellore railway stations should be restored. Reservation facilities should also be made available in evening hours. Tiruvannamalai should be declared as a model railway station by enhancing facilities. Special trains that will be operated to Rameswaram and Velankanni during festive seasons should be extended for

Tiruvannamalai pilgrim centre also.

SHRI ARJUNLAL MEENA: Funds for gauge conversion work may be provided to facilitate the passengers travelling to and fro from Ahmedabad,

Gujarat, Maharashtra and Mumbai. Construction work of new platform at Udaipur city station may be carried out and carriage staff may be shifted to Umreda station,

8 kms away from city. Puja Express train running between Jammu Tavi to may be extended upto Udaipur city and Mewar Express running between Udaipur

& Nizamuddin may be extended upto Haridwar.

SHRI CHINTAMAN NAVASHA WANGA: This budget is for the common people and an effort to create modern railways in India. It provides for various facilities like RO drinking water units on experimental basis, E ticketing system, booking of tickets through mobile and post offices etc. It also mentions for providing platform shelter, toilets on all the railway stations. It also proposes to give a boost to rail movement of fruits and vegetables by providing requisite facilities of temperature controlled storages at 10 locations. Two such stations are in my Thane district at Bhiwandi Road and Kalamboli.The first bullet train between Mumbai-Ahmedabad has been proposed. Many new trains have also been introduced but unfortunately my constituency has been neglected. Vasai-Madgaon new train is on demand by passengers and Pravasi Sangathan. Dahanu Road to Nasik city railway line is required to be constructed. Survey for this has already been completed.

SHRI RAJEEV SATAV: This Railway Budget has disappointed

Maharashtra a lot. A number of things about Maharashtra was not taken care of.

14.5 per cent increase in passenger fares and 6.5 per cent increase in freight rates have been made. Railways earns maximum revenue from Maharashtra. If 40 per cent revenue is earned from Maharashtra, then 40 per cent allocation should have been made for Maharashtra. Maharashtra is the commercial capital of the country.

Central Govt. should allocate funds for Vardha-Nanded project, Admednagar,

Beed Parli railway route projects. The rail wagon factory in Amaravati should be set up. Financial assistance should be given for Ardh-Kumbh Mela which is going to be held in Nasik next year. Rail network for Yavatmal and Buldhana be provided. A survey should be conducted for Purna-Khandwa line, Kinval –Mahur,

Mahur-Pusat line. Several Jyotirlings in Maharashtra should be declared tourist circuits. Financial assistance should be provided for Mahur, Vasi Vidyapeeth etc.

A long standing demand of office in Nanded should be met. A train for Chhatrapati

Shivaji Maharaj Darshani should be introduced. The Railway University to be set up should be named after Gopinath Munde in Hingoli.

SHRI P.C. GADDIGOUDAR: Railway Minister has given importance to safety measures, cleanliness and amenities and much stress has been given to completion of pending and on-going projects instead of taking new projects to consideration. At that same time Minister has given priority for providing high speed and Bullet trains. As regards to my constituency the ongoing project of

Bagalkot –Kudichi (142kms) that the budgetary provision has been made is very meager, the said project sanctioned in the 2010-11. My humble request is that there is some problem regarding alignment of the line in some portion and the decision should be taken at the earliest and adequate amount should be provided in

Supplementary Budget. My special constituency demands are Alamatti –Koppal new line survey work has been completed. I request the Hon‟ble Minister to sanction Alamatti-Koppal new railway line. Bagalkot and Badami Railway Station have been declared as a Adarsh Station. Provide sufficient funds in Budget for completion of the said works.

PROF. CHINTAMANI MALVIYA: Country awaits for the rail budget eagerly, mostly budget focus one area and usually the area belonging to the

Minister of Railways. But, this time rail budget has been prepared while keeping in view the entire country. This rail budget is the first step towards bringing the

Indian Railways at par of the international standards. Setting up of research centre to adopt the international standard to avoid accidents spells out the vision of your budget. Setting up of rail University office on wheels, 40 per cent increase in budget for the sanitation of railway stations, by increasing the capacity of e-ticket to 7200 ticket per minute which is only 2000 ticket per minute presently, by making the Indian railway paper free in two years, rail connectivity to ports etc will give new look to Indian Railways Pilgrimage circuits have been indentified while keeping in view the Indian culture and religions tourism. Special package trains are proposed on these circuits. Vjjain is an important pilgrimage spot of central India visited by lakhs of people every year. Singhasth Mahakumbh is scheduled to be organized in in the year 2016. Singharth has not been kept in mind in rail budget. Gauge-conversion has been done from Fatehabad to

Indore, But 18 Km stretch from Vjjain to Fatehabad has been left. A circle train can be plied between Ujjain-Indore devas if gauge conversion of this 18 km stretch is done. Therefore, gauage conversion from Ujjain to Fathebad should be done and double decker train from Indore to Ratlam should be extended to Ratlam-

Bhopal as well construction of Indore Godhra rail line has not been started yet, this world should also be initiated at the earliest.

SHRI CHANDULAL SAHU: This rail budget is a progressive budget.

Through this rail budget Indian railway will start a new journey. Steps taken for the private partnership in railways are the need of the hour. Provision for passenger safety and increase in facilities and sanitation are also commendable.

Stoppage may be given to various trains at Bagbehra railway station. Mahasamund railway station and Bagbehra railway station should be developed as model railway station.

DR. BANSHILAL MAHATO: This rail budget will give a new direction to

Indian railway. Safety, timely disposal of schemes, passenger amenities, financial discipline, mobilization of resources, use of information technology and transparency and better working system has been strongly stressed upon in rail budget. Steps like bullet train to pilgrimage trains, in line of golden quadrilateral road project , diamond quadrilateral etc., are commendable. High speed train, bullet train, better catering, sanitation, wi-fi facility in railway, recruitment of females in Railway Police Force keeping in view the safety of women are welcome steps. Karba-Raipur Intercity express used to benefit four constituency area Karba, Janjgir – Champa, Bilaspur and Raipur. So this train should be started again. Express should be plied from Karba to Amritsar as express train. Shirnath Express should run upto Korba. Jabalpur-Ambikapur Express runs thrice in a week, it should run daily like express which runs from Korba to

Vishakhapattnam should operate twice in a day.

SHRIMATI SUPRIYA SULE: Though the work of Pune-Daund

Electrification is in progress and scheduled date of completion is in 2015, pace of the actual work does not seem to be matching the schedule. This Project has great importance in overall growth of Maharashtra. Unfortunately, one of clause 19, sub-clauses 19.2 in respect of ceiling limits of units is going against the existing small unit licensees who are within the ceiling limits since their allotments till date as per the Railway Board‟s circulars issued from time to time. The implementations of the above mentioned clause would result in destabilizing their setup, indirectly evicting them from business which would definitely affect the livelihood of large numbers of families, associated with these units for generations.

This Catering would be given allotments under this policy. is the 3rd most developing city in Maharashtra after Mumbai and Pune. One of the NGO „ Rail

Parishad‟ has recommended a solution for a speedy travel between Nasik-Pune by rail. Various demands related the Railway Station have been made. Hence, there is a strong demand from the villages as well as from the workers that a rail station be built-up at Sahajpur which would enable this large population to travel to either

Daund or Pune. Morgaon is one of the important pilgrim centre in Maharashtra and lots of people visit this place from different part of the State, so having a rail facility on this route would be beneficial. Connectivity of Panvel to Mumbai, Pune and other major cities by direct long distance trains is rare. Thus, we need to relook at routs to connect Konkan to major cities in Maharashtra. Pune and the surroundings area is one of the fastest urbanizing area in our country. More and more people are commuting daily from neighboring cities to Pune for their work.

There is urgent need for declaration of Pune-Lonawala-Daund- as a

„Suburban zone.‟ Survey of Hadapser-Jejuri New Line is complete I urge the

Ministry to sanction the project and start the work as soon as possible. Pune,

Daund and Baramati railway stations need basic amenities. Daund station need a new platform. We need ramps at this bridge and opening of the old bridge till this work is done. Jejuri is a major pilgrimage in Maharashtra where billion of common people have faith. The temple has 10 festivals in a year where nearly 5 to 7lakh people visit the place in a day. Jejuri station cannot bear the load of commuters and it need major development work. I urge the Hon. Railway Minister and Railway Board to consider Jejuri for special development project as pilgrimage. Mumbai sub-urban passengers constitute approximately 40% of total passengers in the entire country. Unlike other passengers , people from Mumbai have to travel daily by railway for their work. Railway should consider increasing local trains from Thane and Kalyan for Karjat-Kasara as well as from -

Boriwali to Virar, as we cannot add more trains between Thane and CST.

SHRI SUVENDU ADHIKARI: This budget is completely anti-people. It is an aimless and baseless attempt by the Union Railway Minster. This budget has not reflected the budgetary project allocations and other distributions for the already sanctioned projects by the then Hon. Railway Minister and our supremo

Ms. . I would like to highlight multiple numbers of examples that would obviously show deprivation of West Bengal in this Rail Budget. The cost of the Extension Project was Rs. 11,257 crore. The budgetary allocation in 2014-15 is only Rs. 538 crore. The balance required to complete the work is Rs. 10, 719 crore. The project cost Of Dakshineswar-Dum Dum-

Barrackpre Metro extension is Rs. 1997.10 crore. The allotted amount in this budget is only Rs. 20 crore. It needs Rs. 1977.10 crore. My first demand is, please rollback the price hike in ticket fare and freight for the greater interest of the common people keeping in view that 50 per cent of the people in our country are still living below the poverty line. The proposal to inject FDI in the railway sector must be withdrawn for the economic and social interest of our country. We are not begging for any new projects in West Bengal but our demand is very simple that the projects already sanctioned by the Railway Ministry in the Union Railway

Budgets must be completed within the stipulated time period.

SHRI BIDYUT BARAN MAHATO: This Rail budget will prove to be a progressive one. It focuses on better service, speed and safety. I express my gratitude for provision of railway line from Chandil-Patmada to Jhargram via

Bandovan. I also thank for introducing new train from Tatanagar to

Vaiyyapanahalli and for sanctioning Joogsalai and Chakulia overbridges. The railway facilities are lacking severely in besides north-eastern states.

Long pending demands of Jharkhand, particularly those of Jamshedpur should be fulfilled. Train No. 2801/2902, Purushottam Express should be given stoppage between Tatanagar and Khadagpur at Ghatshila. Direct train to Bhagalpur and

Jaipur should be introduced from Tatanagar. Pantry car should be attached to

Jalianwala . This train should operate five days a week. Rajdhani

Express originating from Ranchi should be run daily. A new train Tatanagr-

Chhapar-Darbhanga should be introduced. New railway line from Tatanagar to

Baripada via Haldikupur-Dumaria should be laid. The construction of sanctioned new railway line from Badamara (Chakulia) to Baripada via Baharagoda should be made operational soon. Providing these facilities would help in employment generation and maintenance peace and order in the region.

SHRI GAJANAN KIRTIKAR: Mumbai is economic capital of India. I express my gratitude for withdrawing fare hike in MST in Mumbai. Andheri and

Borivilli stations in Mumbai should be included in model stations. Railway line laying work from to Borivili should be completed soon. Oshivara railway station work is pending since 2006. Heed should be paid in this regard. The number of railway lines should be increased and platforms should be extended at all stations in Mumbai. Regarding drinking water, no discrimination should be made between Western Railway and South Railway. The trains coming from

Rajasthan, Ahmedabad, Gujarat and north India should be given stoppage at

Andheri station. Waiting rooms should be there. Security audit should be performed for FOBs in Central and Western Railway and they should be strengthened. Funds should be provided for the purpose. The nurses working in

Ambedkar hospital should be made permanent.

SHRI K. PARASURAMAN: On behalf on my constituency I demand restoration of stoppage to Chenmozhi express at Budalur and ERS karaikal express at Budalur and Nidamangalam. Restoration of stoppage to Tiruchendur Chennai

Express and Rameshwaram Chennai Express at papanasam. New train- Thanjavur-

Chennai Superfast Day Express and new train from Delhi to Thanjavur be started.

Newly introduced train – Mannargudi- Jodhpur Express- should start from Tiruchchirappalli. Trichy- Howrah Express train may be extended to Velankannai,

Nellai- Trichy Superfast express may be extended to Thanjavur, Uzhavan Express may be operated as superfast train between Thanjavur to salem via Namakkal.

SHRI RAM KUMAR SHARMA: 40 percent increase under sanitation head is a commendable step. Darbhanga Express should be extended and it should originate from Sitamarhi. The proposed tourist train from Rameshwaram should reach upto Sitamarhi. Darbhanga-Bihar should originate from Sitamarhi. Provision should be made to ensure that Pawan Express originates from Sitamarhi. Saptkranti Express should also originate from Sitamarhi. Intercity

Express should operate from Darbhanga to Benaras via Sitamarhi, Muzzarpur,

Chhapara. Allocation should be made for implementation of Rail Coach Factory at

Dalmia Nagar. Ten identified farmers from every state should be honoured by issuing Railway pass for them.

SHRI R.K. BHARATHI MOHAN: Railway budget has brought the country the real situation of the Indian Railway. Tirupati Rameshwaram Express should run on daily basis. There is a need for the retention of stopping this at

Kumbakonam. From Vilupuram to Tiruchirappalli all passenger and express trains which were running on this line before conversion has to be reinstated on this line.

Rameshwaram-Varanasi Express may be operated on daily basis. Routing of

Puducherry-Mangalore Express via Kumbakonam main line. Necessary allocation should be made for new railway line between Kumbakonam to Virudhachalam and the doubling between Ponmalai-Thanjavur. Survey should be made between

Kumbakonam-Needamanglam, Thanjavur-Kumbakonam, Kumbakonam-

Viruthachalam. Adequate fund should be allocated for early completion of project.

Weekly trains Chennai Egmore-Guwahati should be extended upto Kumbakonam.

Train between Kolapur to Bangalore city should be extended upto Thanjavur via

Selam. Coimbatore-Mannargudi Express should run as Coimbatore-

Mannargudi/Chidambaram link Express. Extension of Kolhapur Shahu Maharaja

Terminal-Bangalore city daily express upto Kumbakonam. Chennai Egmore-

Guwahati Express and Chennai Egmore-Kibrugarh Express upto Kumbakonam.

Funds will be allotted for the Ponmalai-Thanjavur doubling projects. I would like to request the Government to take initiatives to extend the purview of safety to all passengers.

SHRI MOHANBHAI KALYANJIBHAI KUNDARIYA: Surendranagar to Rajkot Rail track must be double. Botad-Jasdan-Gondal line accepted to be completed in 2012 should be taken urgently. A train on the track from Rajkot to

Port-Blair via Dhoragi, Paneli Track is ready since 20, years be run. All passenger trains having 10 coaches be increased upto 15 coaches and train having 15 coaches should be increased up to 20 coaches.

SHRI NALIN KUMAR KATEEL: A daily train between Bangalore and

Mangalore introduced should run via Arasikere. One more train must be introduced in the railway line between Bangalore and Mangalore. Necessary steps should be taken to operate the train from Mangalore – Shravanabelagola.

Necessary instruction should be given to authorities to chalk out a suitable time table for the new passenger train between Byndur and Kasargod which would connect important pilgrimages Kollur, Udupi and educational hub Manipal. There is a need to look into timetable for trains namely, Mangalore Central Demu passenger rail, Mangalore-Madgaon intercity train. I wish to draw the kind attention of hon‟ble Minister towards a few long pending demands of people of coastal Karnataka. They are: To create separate railway division for Mangalore, provide world class facilities at Mangalore Railway station, to convert the existing tri-weekly train between Yeshwantpur and karwar Express into a daily train, to introduce a new train between Mangalore and Vasco-da-Gama, to doubling the railway line between Mangalore and Mumbai. Converting the existing passenger train as DEMU train between Mangalore to Subramanya road. Extension of

Bhatkal-Thokur DEMU train upto Subramany Road of SWR. Extension of

Madgaon-Mangalore Intercity train upto Subramanya Road. The Mangalore-

Hyderabad train route should be via Mangalore Central-Hassan-Arasikere-

Chikkajajur-Gunthakal-Kachiguda. Specially designed coaches for differently- abled persons should be provided in each Mail/Express trains. The construction of additional two platforms at Mangalore Central. Doubling of railway line between

Mangalore and Thokur. Sufficient funds should be allocated for this project. To provide passenger lifts and elevator at Mangalore Central railway station. Steps should be taken to conduct survey on the new railway lines between “Karkala-

Belthangadi-Ujire-Dharmasthala-Nettana”, “Byndoor – Nettana”, “Mysore –

Madikeri – Mangalore. Provision for safe drinking water, platform shelters, escalators facilities, adequate number of waiting halls and toilets at the railway stations should be made.

DR. : We from Trinamool Congress demand review and roll back of fare hike brought about before the Rail Budget. A fanciful announcement in the Rail Budget is bullet trains. There is a need to lay new track for bullet tracks as we can seen Japan. Taking all important decision like brining in FDI in railways, defence and insurance sector shows the brute attitude of the Government.

There is need to take along every one. There seems to be no major mention of any projects of trains for West Bengal. We want our legitimate rights. We have the right to seek and demand as to what is genuinely needed for the benefit and welfare of the people of West Bengal. Central Government has a solemn duty and responsibility to listen to us and respond positively. I hope the ongoing Projects in

West Bengal are completed in time with adequate allocations of funds. There is a need for more women RFP Constables considering the huge women passengers using Railway network. There are 29 rail projects in Andhra Pradesh and

Telangana with Rs. 20,680 crore. But what about West Bengal? Likewise,

Varanasi and Gujarat and Karnataka have benefits immensely. There is a need to revamp the railway reservation system to make it more user friendly and plug the loopholes. Rail tourism should be given a fillip. There is a need to attend to cleanliness in trains and in stations. This needs a lot of efforts.

DR. SATYA PAL SINGH: Shahadara and Saharanpur Railway line started in 1907 and converted into broad gauge is still a single line working. People, three to four times of the capacity travel in it in the coaches, sitting on the roofs and even in toilets every day. We demand no bullet train, but express and fast trains. We also demand waiting rooms and separate boogie and compartment for women.

Baghpat and Baraut should be developed and connected with metro. Modinagar and Ghaziabad should also be connected with metro train system which will enable to decongest Delhi. Introduction of refrigerated goods train would enable to provide fresh and cheaper vegetable and fruits to Delhi. Our CCTV system lacks continuity of signals, its quality is below average. The matter should be inquired into and the quality should be upgraded. Police agencies should be involved while installing CCTV in order to improve the picture quality of the faces of commuters at railway stations. RPF activities leading to indiscipline. IPS officials should be appointed at senior level to maintain co-ordination. The duty of GRP and RPF should also be specified. Since the amendment made in RPF Act in 2004, GRP is not being provided with resources by the State police. Since the matter concerns law and order and the security of women, Railway Ministry should provide resources to CRP also. Since the people of our area have been kept hopelessly deprived in doubling and electrification of railway lines should be done and fast trains should be introduced in our area.

SHRI DILIPKUMAR MANSHUKHLAL GANDHI: I support the

Railway Budget 2014-15 in which attention has been paid towards safety, security, enhancing the speed of trains, modernization and bringing transparency in the works of railways. The Railway Minister has paid adequate attention towards

Maharashtra. I request that in view of the coming Nashik Kumbh, a railway booking counter should be set up at -Shingnapur and a new AC train should be introduced on Solapur-Nagar-Manmad Nashik rail route on experimental basis.

Ahmednagar is an important Railway Station from viewpoint of Military. Hence, arrangements for booking counter, parking and retiring room should be made there. A platform shed should also be provided here. All the trains passing through Daund-Manmad route should be given stoppage at railway station. One two-tier and two three-tier AC coaches should be provided in

Maharashtra Express plying between Katenhapur and Gondia. There are only seven coaches in Shirdi-Mumbai fast passenger train from Daund and in view of a large number of pilgrims, the number of coaches should be enhanced to 22. A

Nagar-Pune shuttle service should be introduced. There is urgent need of four

ROBs in Srigonda Tehsil, 2 ROBs in Nagar tehsil and 3 ROBs are required in

Rahuri Tehsil on Daund-Manmad line but budgetary allocation has been made only for two ROBs. Funds should be provided for the remaining ROBs immediately. SHRI HARISHCHANDRA CHAVAN: I support the Railway Budget,

2014-15. The work on the proposed rail route of Manmad to Indore via ,

Dhule and Nasik Road – Pune rail route falling under the Central Railway in

Maharashtra should be undertaken and sanction for the survey of new rail routes of

Nasik road- , Nasik road- Dahanu should be accorded. Introduction of

Horticulture train for agriculturists will beneficial for the farmers of Dindori region. Three lakhs Sadhus and nearly one crore people are expected to visit Nasik to attend Simhastha Kumbh Mela. Therefore, Nasik Road Station and Manmad

Station should be modernised completely and Odha railway station at Nasik should be upgraded as a new Terminal keeping in view of large number of pilgrims. There is a need to include Nasik in the list of Tourist places. One Branch of the proposed

Railway University should be set up in Manmad to impart training in technical and non-technical subjects besides setting up an innovations Incubation Centres to make railway management more efficient. A railway crossing flyover bridge should be constructed in Nandgaon, Wadgaon Post, Kottamgaon and in

Nasik district. Arrangements for Railway crossing gate, signal and security guard should be made at Nagarsol(Tehsil , district Nasik) to avoid accidents. Train

No. 22109/22110 –LTT Mumbai- Hazrat Nizamuddin Express and train no.

12171/12172 –LTT Mumbai –Haridwar Express should be run daily. Further, train no. 22109/22110 – LTT Mumbai –Hazrat Nizamuddin Express should be upgraded to Rajdhani Express. A pantry car should be provided in Train No. 12172- LTT Mumbai- Haridwar Express and a new train should be introduced particularly for the people traveling from Nandgaon to Nasik and Nasik to Mumbai and it should be run daily in the morning and evening respectively. Local trains should be introduced from Manmad-Nasik-Kasara and Kasara-Nasik-Manmad.

SHRI V. ELUMALAI: This Budget is a forward-looking budget which will lead to economic revival. Several proposals including the setting up of an

Expenditure Management Commission, more importance to women and children have to be welcomed. Our leader‟s suggestion for modifying the MGNREG

Scheme to make works more productive has been accepted and I thank the Hon‟ble

Finance Minister for the same. I request the Minister to set up a Silk Park in the

Arani town in my constituency which is long pending. The budgetary plan for river links be expeditiously executed as it will resolve many of the inter-state water disputes and help all the agriculturists in the country to produce throughout the year. The first Bullet Train from Ahmedabad to Mumbai at the cost of Rs. 60,000 crores is a welcome measure. Allotment of mere Rs. 10 crores each for the ongoing Tindivanam-Nagari 179.2kms and Tindivanam-Girage-Thiruvannamalai

70kms. is very meager. I, therefore, request the Hon‟ble Minister to allot Rs. 500 crores of Rupees to finish in this year itself. Gingee Town is a symbol for secularism where , Muslims, Jains and other communities are living peacefully. I request the Government to declare this place as a tourism centre. SHRI DEVUSINH CHAUHAN: In my constituency there is a passenger train running from Nadiad to Kapadwanj to Modasa. It should be extended up to

Delhi via Tito‟s. The work has been completed but only 27 km. is remaining. If it is completed, there would be a parallel rail line from Nadiad to Delhi. The heavy traffic of passengers as well as goods should be transferred on this track.

SHRI DHARAM VIRA GANDHI: There is a mention about the safety of common man and women, provision of toilets, management of unmanned crossing and Wi-fi facilities in this Budget. There is also a mention about PPP and FDI in railways but I doubt wherever the railways is going to be privatized partially or fully in the days to come. As far as bullet train is concerned, it appears to be a joke with 90-95 percent people. Our priority should be to provide world class facilities to the 95 percent people of country before talking about the bullet train. There is no mention about the role of corruption, inefficiency and mismanagement behind

14 percent hike in freight. Malwa region of Punjab comprises of 10 districts. Only a few trains have been provided to this area. Thirty kilometers area is still not covered in Malwa-region due to which there is no rail line between Rajpura and

Chandigarh. Laying a rail line in this area will help in connecting the 10 districts of Malwa with the capital. There is a need to undertake survey in this route and lay this 30 kilometers line at the earliest. Besides there is no provision for a train for

Patiala, Nabha, Dhrui and Samana. There was an assurance from the Minister of Railways that there will be a train for Bhatinda via Patiala. I hope the hon‟ble

Minister will fulfill this promise.

SHRI THOTA NARASIMHAM: I wish to bring to the attention of the

House certain pending projects in Andhra Pradesh and to expedite these projects

The Nandyala-Yerraguntla railway line which connects Kadapa on Chennai-

Mumbai line with Guntur-Guntakal line passing through important places like

Proddutur, Jammalamaduru, Banganapalli, which are having potential for establishment of cement plants should be completed at the earliest. Nadikudi-

Srikalahasthi project which was sanctioned in the year 2011-12, should also be completed early with the original alignment. In my constituency, Kakinada, there is a long pending demand for construction of the Kakinada-Pithapuram broad gauge line. Kakinada being a port city is the commercial hub of business activities and industries like fertiliser, natural gas, petroleum, information technology, etc.

As all the conditions placed by the Railway Board like free land and proportionate cost sharing by the Government of Andhra Pradesh, which have been fulfilled. I request the personal intervention of the hon. Minister for early commencement of the construction of this railway line. I also request the hon. Minister for regularisation of Kakinada- Train Nos. 17204 and 17203 with pantry car facility, introduction of new regular train services from Kakinada to Jodhpur via

Bikaner, and stoppage of Visakhapatnam-Mumbai Train Nos.18519 and 18520 at

Samalkota Junction. In the State Reorganisation Bill, the Government of India had given a commitment to examine the establishment of a new zone for the residuary

Andhra Pradesh. It is learnt that a committee has been formed but it has not conducted even one sitting so far and not consulted State Government officers and not visited any of the divisions to give their recommendations.

** ** ** **

P. SREEDHARAN, Secretary-General.

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

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