Siddaramaiah ridicules budget as attempt to privatise Railways

Industry bodies welcome rail budget

Chief minister Siddaramaiah today criticised the Railway Minister for completely ignoring the state’s demands. “It is an effort to privatise the Railways. There is nothing new in this budget. Though a minister from Karnataka, he has not given anything interesting to the state,” he exclaimed.

The announcement of a high-speed train between Mysore and Chennai would serve Tamil Nadu more than Karnataka, he said.

He has also expressed unhappiness over the budget for not including any Janasadharan train or an AC express train for Karnataka.

Minister for higher education R V Deshpande has expressed his happiness over the announcement of a new train between Dharwad-Dandeli-Alnavar, which had been pending for many years. This train will pave way for increasing tourist inflow to many tourism destinations in north Karnataka region, he said.

Union minister for chemicals and fertiliser H N Ananth Kumar welcomed the move to announce five new line surveys and one track-doubling survey. “It is a great moment that in the proposed High Speed Train Service, the Mysore-Bangalore-Chennai route has been included,” he said.

Meanwhile, industry and trade bodies have welcomed the Railway Budget for 2014-15 presented by Union Minister for Railways D V Sadananda Gowda stating that the budget is on the right track.

The Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FKCCI) has lauded the efforts of the Railway Minister for announcing increased passenger amenities, more safety measures, timely completion of projects and increased financial discipline.

S Sampathraman, President, FKCCI said: “In respect of Karnataka, the minister has offered a bonanza by sanctioning many speed trains and introduction of new trains as demanded by the state. This is welcome sign to show that the minister reacts to public demand and needs. Overall, the budget is visionary, growth-oriented and pragmatic.”

The Bangalore Chamber of Industry and Commerce (BCIC) welcomed Gowda’s proposal to announce 11 new trains in Karnataka including DEMU and MEMU services, which was a long-pending demand of the chamber and people of Karnataka.

The chamber also welcomed the Railways for setting up a Project Management Group at the level of the Railway Board to overcome the delays in project execution and similarly, setting up a project monitoring and coordination group consisting of officials of state governments, Railways and professionals to expedite projects at the ground level.

A N Chandramouli, President-BCIC, said: “Overall, the Budget looks more operational and practical given the kind of very low elbow space in terms of shrinking revenues. Some open-ended announcements, such as launching of bullet train, FDI and PPP, and the minister’s thrust on improving efficiency, restructuring the Board, outsourcing cleaning services are very positive measures.”

Anuj Sharma, Senior Vice President, BCIC, welcomed the Golden Quadrilateral Rail Network linking the four metro cities and running semi-high-speed trains on select routes.

However, the chamber expressed its disappointment at the Railway Minister not mentioning the establishment of a freight corridor which was announced by the previous UPA regime. The chamber also expressed its unhappiness over not providing a timeline for PPP on private wagons to be operated which it feels would augment more resources to finance the new projects.

Meanwhile, the Karnataka Planters’ Association (KPA) thanked Gowda for announcing a new line from Mysore to Kushalnagar and completing the survey from Mysore to Kushalnagar in the state’s southern region.

Karnataka Small Scale Industries Association President Chidananda M. Rajamane said, “The Minister could have considered announcing some concessions specific to the SME sector.”

Especially given the fact that the Railways are now carrying only 31 per cent of the total freight and are looking to improve its freight turnover.”