Sir,
I would like to draw your attention to the hon. Minister's speech.
We have done the magic of generating a surplus of Rs. 25,000 crores
despite reduction in fares. Sir, it is nothing but attractive
presentation. There is no doubt that the Minister has done a good job in
improving the freight revenues by increasing the permissible loads on the
tracks. At the same time, the Railways failed to implement the
electronic monitoring system on wheel-axle loads. Due to this, the Railways have
failed to control overloading, which the Minister has regularized. This
overloading will definitely eat away the life of rails, wheels and also old
bridges. Definitely, it would lead to a crisis in the near120 future. Sir, I would like to state
here that it is harmful to milk a cow till it starts bleeding. In
this policy, there is no vision of 2025; there is only a vision of
the140 (1) 2009 elections.
Sir,
regarding passenger fares, the Minister has stated that he has reduced all the
fares but the Railways are squeezing the passengers through backdoor methods.
One understands that the Tatkal quota is meant for reservation by passengers
during emergency and that is done without proper planning. Some seats could be
reserved under this quota to facilitate their journey. But the Tatkal quota has
been increased to a whopping 30 per cent of the seating capacity in
all240 the trains
and its booking period has been extended from 24 hours to one week.
As a result of this policy, the regular passengers and passengers
on the waiting list, have been facing a lot of problems. They have280 to buy the ticket under the Tatkal
scheme at a (2) higher price. In this way, the
Railways earn extra revenue. This is nothing but sale of tickets in the
black market. Another clever trick is that without improving the efficiency or
the amenities and without increasing the speed, just by reducing the halting
time, they have converted the passenger trains into express trains,
the express trains into super-fast trains, and they are collecting a surcharge.
When an express train running360
through my constituency was converted into a super-fast train, I thought
that all the amenities of a super-fast train would be available in it. But when
I pulled the door to step inside the train, the door almost fell upon me. That
was the condition of that coach and this train was called a super-fast
train. I lodged a complaint in420
this regard. After six months, the same coach arrived. When I went
into it, there was nothing new; it had just been repainted and some minor
repairs had been carried out. (3)
So, that train was converted into a super-fast train and the Railways are
collecting a surcharge on it. We are having 8000 trains and 10,000 stations.480 But the spending on civic amenities and
passenger amenities is only meagre, that is, Rs. 500 crore. This is the
outlay. This means, they are leaving the common man to his fate only.
Sir, now I come to the speed of trains. While all over the world the
speed of trains is increasing, the speed of Indian trains has come down. For
the goods trains, the speed is 30 kilometres; for passenger trains, it
is 40 kilometres, while the permitted560
speed is 75 kilometres. Likewise, the optimum utilization of rolling
stock also is not proper. Without doing these two things, the Railways are
proposing the dedicated corridors for the past five years.
Sir,
so far as recruitment is concerned, the600
entire recruitment process is in a mess. It is ridiculous (4) to
make the Group 'D' category as an All India
category. Some ugly scenes also occurred in Assam and Karnataka regarding this
recruitment. The Minister is also facing criticism that people of his State are
getting priority in all zones. We appreciate the intelligence of people of
Bihar. But it appears that they are highly meritorious only in
Railways’ recruitment, not in other recruitment.
Sir,
I saw the Minister always using a neem stick to brush his teeth. I
thought he represents the rural masses. But when we see the700 metro projects, the underground metro
projects cost about Rs. 250 crores per kilometre and overground metro projects
cost around720 Rs. 100 crores
per kilometre whereas the cost of an ordinary railway line is Rs. 6 crores per
kilometre. That means they are diverting the funds of rural areas to the
metros. I do not think he is representing the rural masses; he is
thinking of only urban elites. Sir, (5)
regarding our representations, everywhere
it is a routine process; it is a ritual. These Railway authorities are
convening pre-Budget meetings with the Members of Parliament of that
Railway Zone. But they are not taking any cognisance of the advice which
we give them. I will quote an example. I sent a representation two weeks before
this meeting. But they did not take any cognisance of my representation or my
advice.840 When I insisted,
they said that they had not received the letter itself. But, when I showed them
the inward stamp on my letter, they accepted their mistake. So, that is
the importance they are giving to our representation and advice. Now, the
Minister has introduced this Budget in the Parliament for passing their
demands.
Sir,
The Budget presented by the Railway Minister is being appreciated by
some as a great budget. Only when you have a deep study of this Budget, you
will grasp its real nature. This (6) budget
has been prepared bearing in mind the forthcoming Parliamentary Elections. I
would like to point out that this Budget lacks vision and does not
have a long-term perspective. For960
instance, there is 5 per cent fare reduction for sleeper class preferred by
poor and common people. At the same980
time, AC class fare has been reduced by 7 per cent. Most of those who travel by
AC classes can add some more money and can afford to travel even by planes. But
it is only the poor who are worst hit by the skyrocketing prices. Hence,
they need to have a better deal. So, it is clear that this fare
reduction is not going to help the common people and nothing concrete is there
in this Budget for the poorer classes of the society. Senior citizens above 60
years of age are getting travel concession of 30 per cent1080 now.
In
this year’s Railway Budget, the hon. Minister has (7) announced that female
senior citizens will get the travel concession increased up to 30 per cent. There
should not be any discrimination between men and women in the
Senior Citizen1120 category. The
senior citizens are extended this travel concession facility because their age
is more and their income is less. Considering the fact that male senior
citizens travel more than the female senior citizens, 50 per cent travel
concession should be extended to senior citizens of both the sexes uniformly.
Girl students who were getting free railway passes up to class XII have been
extended with these facilities up to the completion of their college studies.
Similarly, the boys who1200
were getting free railway passes up to class X, would henceforth be
getting it till they complete class XII. I would like to urge upon you that
there should not be any disparity in this facility extended to the
students and it should be for both the sexes equally. Hence, (8) I urge upon the hon. Railway
Minister to extend this1260
to boys also till they complete their college studies.
Though
the Railways are happily claiming that they have made huge1280 profits, it is saddening to note that
the Southern Railway, more particularly the sections in Tamil Nadu, does
not get adequate funds. I would like to say that a grave injustice has
been done to our State. It is a matter of concern that a new rail
route linking the coastal districts of Tamil Nadu has not been announced
in the Budget. Although a new Railway division in Tamil Nadu has been announced,
it does not have enough staff. The existing employees do not have
buildings either to sit and work or housing facility to reside near
their work place.
Sir,
I stand here to support the Railway Budget. It has always been the
case that every Member of the1400
(9) House raises some demand with
respect to his area. In the light of this, I would also like
to make a few suggestions. The Konkan Railway is a very important
project. In fact, it is a project with international fame1440 for which everybody is full of praise.
In the beginning, because of the constraint of funds, only one line was laid
down. At that time, it was not possible to have double track.
Now, it is high time that the Railway Ministry takes up the work of
laying double line without any delay. The Railway Ministry will also get
name and fame, if this project is undertaken. I would like to have a
special commitment from the hon. Minister that a survey will immediately
be started, as far as the doubling of railway track is concerned. (10)
