Railways to up plan outlay, despite hit on resource generation

The Railways, despite a resource crunch, would step up plan expenditure by more than 10 per cent at Rs 40,745 crore for laying new lines and gauge conversion in the current fiscal from what was spent during 2008-09.  

The increased expenditure would be incurred even as the Railways would not be able to generate most of the funds through the Public Private Partnership model as was expected by the former Railways Minister Lalu Prasad in the interim budget.  

"I was surprised to find that there was a provision of Rs 3,400 crore for resource mobilisation through PPP, of which Rs 3,300 crore would just not materialise," Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee said in her Budget in the Lok Sabha.        

However, the Railways will incur Rs 40,745 crore as planned expenditure this fiscal, up 10.80 per cent over Rs 36,773 crore spent last fiscal, as the Ministry has got Rs 5,000 crore more as budgetary support from the Finance Ministry over what it got in the interim Budget.      

The proposed planned expenditure will represent 7.49 per cent increase over Rs37,905 as estimated in the interim Budget.  

"I learnt that the Railways had received less than their proportionate share of Gross Budgetary Support, as per the XIth plan provisions. I immediately took up the matter with the Finance Minister and am happy to say that we received an increase of Rs 5,000 crore as budgetary support, over an above the Rs 10,800 crore committed in the interim Budget," Banerjee  said.