Rlys Seek Payout Waiver For Backward Area Projects

The railway ministry has proposed that the government should not seek dividend on investment in backward area projects. Such waiver has already been allowed by the government in respect of rail projects in the North-East and Jammu & Kashmir.

The railways has also asked for financial support from the government to meet the cost of future projects in backward regions and those for defence purposes.

A cabinet note to this effect has already been issued, railway minister Ram Vilas Paswan said at a press conference in New Delhi yesterday.

The railways argument is that backward area rail facilities are unremunerative. Still, they are taken up to provide better communication facilities to the people as part of the governments social uplift programmes. Therefore, the railways should be exempt from either the cost burden or dividend payment.

 

Railway Board chairman M Ravindra explained that the railways had paid a dividend of Rs 1,600 crore to the government in 1996-97.

If it was not required to pay dividend in respect of the facilities in the backward areas, the liability would go down considerably, he said.

Dividend waiver to the tune of Rs 300 crore was allowed by the government in respect of the railway projects in the North-East and Jammu & Kashmir.

The railways is likely to leave it to the Planning Commission to identify which areas could be considered backward for the purpose of dividend waiver and financial support.

In deference to the railways pro-poor policy, Paswan said, the Railway Board had decided that henceforth 50 per cent of all the vacancies in railway catering services would be filled by candidates of scheduled castes (33 per cent) and scheduled tribes (17 per cent) until the backlog is cleared. Thereafter, the reservation pattern will be 20 per cent for SCs and 10 per cent for STs.

The minister said he was trying to get a portion of rural development funds earmarked for building new lines in the rural and backward areas.

Regarding Konkan Railway, Paswan said only a 50-metre tunnel out of the total 92 remained incomplete. The problem is being tackled using German technology.

He expressed the hope that the work would be complete by July-end so that the project could be inaugurated on August 15.

About his proposal to provide rail links between the main city and international airports, Paswan said the ministry had approved it in principle, but the problem was resources. Normally it should be the job of the urban affairs ministry to provide such a link in Delhi. He said the matter was being examined.

The minister condemned the racket in railway reservation system and iterated his commitment to end the menace. If necessary, the travel agency system would be abolished, he said.

However, regarding complimentary passes, the minister said a certain minimum was necessary for former MPs, freedom fighters, sports and gallantry award winners etc.