New leadership coming at Rail Bhavan, but no big change expected

With Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee’s landslide victory in West Bengal, the Union railways ministry is set to have a new minister soon and a revamped board. However, not much is expected to change, as Banerjee and the TMC would continue to wield control on the ministry.

Banerjee had taken over the reins of the ministry in May 2009. She is credited for attempts at developing a consensus with the private sector for investments in the cash-strapped Indian Railways.

Her replacement with a new minister is also being accompanied by a parallel change of guard at the railway board, as two of the top six positions are to be renewed by next month.

While Samar Jha was replaced by Pompa Babbar as financial commissioner of the board last month, Vivek Sahai, the current chairman of the board, is set to retire by June 30.

“Mamata was a national leader. She is known in the ministry for the freedom she would give to officers and also for getting work delivered at all costs. In fact, her clean image used to inspire the office,” said a senior official in the ministry who did not wish to be named.

Despite the change of guard, experts do not anticipate any substantial change in the functioning of the ministry. It is likely to be retained by the TMC and Mukul Roy, a trusted aide of Banerjee, is tipped to become the new minister.

“A frequent change of guards has always been the case with the rail ministry. But the institutional framework under which the board functions remains the same. Therefore, the ongoing changes would not have much impact,” said a former financial commissioner of the railway board.

However, given the current ill-financial health and delayed reforms in Indian Railways, any new minister would have a difficult job. Much of the the detailed reform agenda outlined in 2009 for the railways by the Prime Minister — including an independent rate regulator, ramping up private investment and a major overhaul of accounting practices – is yet to see the light of day.

A regulator for the rail sector is nowhere in the picture. The private investment target of Rs 50,300 crore in during the current Plan period has been lowered by the planning commission to Rs 8,300 crore. Accounting reforms, too, are yet to take shape.

“The ministry’s targets and objectives were well laid out in the Vision 2020 document released by Mamata. The new minister’s priority should be to continue the Vision programme with focus on increasing resources, as the next pay commission (2016) is not too far,” the former financial commissioner said.