Prime Minister I K Gujral has favoured allocating Rs 2,000 crore out of the income generated from the voluntary disclosure of income scheme, to the railway ministry, according to outgoing railway minister Ram Vilas Paswan.
It could be Rs 3,000 crore. But I am sure Gujral has indicated at least Rs 2,000 crore, he said while addressing a press conference on his last day in Rail Bhavan yesterday. He said the money would be used for developing infrastructure in backward areas, an area that did not give much returns.
Paswan also suggested that some proportion of funds from welfare schemes like Jawahar Rozgar Yojana should be allocated for the development of railway infrastructure, particularly in backward areas.
He said the ministry should be given a budgetary support Rs 3,000 crore and allowed an overall plan size of Rs 10,000 crore in 1998-99. The statement comes in the wake of reports that the finance ministry has favoured a much reduced plan size of Rs 8,200 crore for the railways in the coming year.
He stressed the new government should ensure that adequate investments were made for the development of infrastructure to meet the growing freight and passenger traffic.
The minister, who was flanked by railway board chairman V K Agarwal and board members, claimed that performance of the railways on the financial front was very good.
For the first time, more than Rs 800 crore were expected over and above the budgetary estimates in earnings, he said. Of the additional earnings, Rs 342 crore have come mainly from the drive against ticketless travel, he said.
Paswan said out of the total track length of 62,000 km, only about 13,000 km had double and treble lines. He hoped the new government would continue prioritise development of the network in backward areas of North East, Jammu and Kashmir, Bihar, MP, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Orissa and Andhra Pradesh.
Referring to gauge conversion, Paswan said a policy decision had been taken to convert all narrow and metre gauge lines into broad gauge under a time-bound scheme. To tone up administration and decentralise its operations, six new zones and division have been created.
Paswan hoped the new government would sanction adequate funds to ensure that these units were made fully functional as per schedule.
He said the United Front governments policy of transparency and openness in rail purchases through open tenders had resulted in railways saving Rs 125 crore in the procurement of concrete sleepers, Rs 65 crore in the procurement of wagons and Rs 62 crore in the procurement of steel in the current financial year.
Listing his ministrys achievements during the year, Paswan said the long-awaited Konkan railways had been made operational, 57,000 casual labourers regularised and medical facilities extended to retired railway personnel on par with serving employees.
He said passes had been issued to porters and SC/ST vacancies had been filled. Paswan said the Rs 6,000 crore needed to implement the fifth pay commission recommendations for railway employees had been met by improving efficiency, reducing non-plan expenditure and increased earnings.
He claimed the menace of touts had been substantially checked with the new tatkal scheme and security measures like close circuit television at railway stations.
Asked about the increasing number of rail accidents in the country, Paswan said this could be minimised only with investments in doubling and trebling of lines as the existing ones were being over utilised.
Meanwhile, board chairman Agarwal expressed concern over the decline in the market share of the Indian Railways vis-a-vis road transport and said the nation stood to gain Rs 5,300 crore in fuel savings if the trend was reversed.
While our market share in 1951 was 80 per cent, it has come down to 40 per cent in freight and 20 per cent in passenger traffic now, Agarwal said while addressing the general assembly of International Union of Railway Medical Services.
Pointing out that railways were six times more fuel efficient than road transport, Agarwal said its increased use will save the nation a whopping Rs 5,300 crore per annum in diesel consumption alone, besides energy, manpower and other road-related expenditure.
Agarwal, also ex-officio principal secretary to the government, said the trend towards road transport cannot be reversed unless more investments were made.
Moreover, road traffic and resultant pollution were also matters of concern, he said, adding, therefore, it is essential that railways regain its market share.
