No plan to privatise Indian Railways as it belongs to people:
(Eds: Updating with minister's response)
New Delhi, Mar 17 () There is no plan to privatiseIndian Railways as it belongs to the people of the country,Railways Minister Piyush Goyal asserted in Rajya Sabha onTuesday after some members raised concerns over it.
Replying to a discussion on the working of the Ministryof Railways, Goyal announced an investment of Rs 50 lakh crorein the national transporter over the next 12 years.
"I want to make it crystal clear that there is no planor proposal to privatise Indian Railways, it will not happen.Indian Railways belongs to the people of this country, it willremain so," Goyal said.
Keeping in mind development of the railways, thegovernment may, however, bring in a few services under privatesector in order to provide better services to the passengers,he added.
Participating in the discussion, several Rajya Sabhamembers raised concerns over the poor financial health of therailways, decline in job opportunities and delay in executionof major projects, besides privatisation of the nationaltransporter.
Goyal said the government was committed to making IndianRailways world class in every aspect.
"In the next 12 years we are going to invest Rs 50 lakhcrore in the Indian Railways. We will do it in publicprivate partnership. We will also give the chance to thepeople of this country to be part of this process," he added.
Goyal, in reply to allegations by Trinamool Congressmember Derek O'Brien, said that sharing of funds between theCentre and state governments for new railway projects wasstarted during the UPA regime of which the Trinamool Congresswas a part, and it was inherited by the BJP as a legacy.
The minister, however, added it was "not a bad practice".
Goyal cited various news reports on the performance ofthe railways under former Railway Minister and TrinamoolCongress chief Mamata Bannerjee. "I don't want to politicisethe issue of losses," he added.
O'Brien had alleged step-motherly treatment to statesgoverned by parties other than the BJP, particularly WestBengal.
Responding to complaints of delay in work, Goyal saidthat over the last five years the government has taken stepsto speed up various projects.
"In 2014-15 the capex (capital expenditure) for theIndian Railways stood at Rs 58,000 crore. This year Rs 1.61lakh crore capex is going to happen. This investment has ledto unprecedented work," the minister noted.
Elaborating on the achievements of the government, hesaid that barring a few in Rajasthan, unmanned level crossingshave ceased to exist on the board gauge network across thecountry.
On electrification of tracks, he said that out ofstated target to convert 6,000 kms last year, the governmenthas been able to complete 5,276 kms.
In 2013-14, the length of electrified tracks in thecountry stood at of just 610 kms, he noted.
"Looking at the dedication of the railways employees, Ihave confidence that we will be able to achieve the target offull electrification by 2023-24," Goyal said.
He said that the government has identified 58 projectsas "super critical" and 68 projects as "critical" and therailways is working to complete them on priority.
He said that if the government gets support from thestate governments in terms of land acquisition, investment,the projects could be implemented with greater speed.
Commenting specifically on West Bengal, he said therewere issues of land encroachment in the state which have hadimpact on various projects.
Earlier participating in the debate, Minister of Stateof Railways Suresh Angadi said there were encroachments onboth sides of tracks in West Bengal.
He said that during the protests against the amendedcitizenship law, maximum damage to railways property tookplace in the state.
Citing the example of Kerala, Goyal sought help fromthe members to speed up projects across the country.
"Help us get land, if we get land and the stategovernment's share of investment, we will be able to fast-track the projects," he said.
He said the Katra-Banihal rail line in Jammu andKashmir would be completed by August 2022.
Citing other achievements, Goyal said the Rai Barelirail coach factory would roll out a record 2,000 coaches thisyear.
He added that the Indian Railways has traced problem ofwater-logging in 2,044 underpasses, out of the total 8,519 inthe country.
"We have solved the issue in 715 of the underpasses sofar and the rest would be rectified in the next few months,"Goyal said.
He said that about 99.5 per cent work on bio-toilets wascomplete and the rest would be completed soon.
Goyal said that in order to achieve zero carbonemissions, the Indian Railways plans to generate 20,000 megawatt of electricity through solar infrastructure, helping itmeet its entire supply requirement.
Earlier, leader of opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad soughtqueries regarding the work on various railways projects inJammu and Kashmir.
Participating in a discussion on the working of theMinistry of Railways, several members referred to the largenumber of vacancies in the railways and said these should befilled up, thereby providing job opportunities to the younggeneration.
Binoy Viswam of the CPI said the railways has aroundthree lakh vacancies and these should be filled up.
Opposing privatisation of trains and stations, he saidthe national transporter has "forgotten its social aspect andsocial commitment".
V Vijayasai Reddy of the YSRCP said the railways now hasan operating ratio of 98.4 per cent, which is the worst inlast 10 years.
Moreover, the railways' revenue surplus is also fallingand suggested that "priority should be given to augmentationof its internal resources."
He also said that fatality due to accidents has declinedthis year and hygiene at railway station has improved.
Sanjay Singh of the AAP said that employmentopportunities are being ignored by the railways. Thegovernment is increasing outsourced works in the railways,where contractual labourers are being exploited.
Praful Patel of the NCP raised concerns over the delay inseveral railways projects and suggested that the governmentshould think of cost benefit analysis of major works.
He, however, supported PPP model in the railways, saying"we should be open minded."
Jose K Mani of the KCM said that the railway isoverloaded with work and several projects such as doubling ofline in Kerala are long delayed.
Neeraj Shekhar of the BJP said the Opposition ismisguiding the people about performance of the railways.Indian Railways has performed well in last five years, hesaid.
The railways has installed 2.38 lakh bio-toilets between2014 and 2018. It has a capital expenditure of over Rs onelakh crore, has done doubling of 28,000 km tracks.
Highlighting the safety records, Shekhar said that it hasnot witnessed a single accident in last one year.
Over the operating ratio, he said that it was due toimplementation of the Seventh Pay Commission by the governmentin the railways.
Husain Dalwai of the Congress said that the revenue ofthe Indian Railways should be increased.
Dalwai also raised the safety issue of the Mumbaisuburban trains, saying that according to GRP data, 3,202people died in 2016-17 and 3,014 in 2018-19. He asked therailways to enhance the security measures to reduce the highnumber of fatalities.
R S Bharathi of the DMK said that the government shouldcomplete the second unit of the Integral Coach Factory (ICF)in Perambur.
Manoj Kumar Jha of the RJD, Veer Singh of the BSP and V PVaishya of the AGP and K K Ragesh of CPI(M) raised concernsover the privatisation of the railways.