ENGLISH SHORTHAND DICTATION-249

 

Hon. Chairman Sir, I take this opportunity to raise an important issue to stop privatisation of public sector banks. The hon. Finance Minister, in her statement last month, mentioned about disinvestment in two public sector banks. Since the banks were incurring losses earlier, the Government took a decision to merge the banks to revive them. Now, if we privatise the banks, they will look into their own monetary benefits. They may sanction crores of rupees to their sister concerns and their allies. What will happen if the loans that are sanctioned to some companies result in bankruptcy? What is the guarantee for the depositors? There are about eight lakh bank employees. What is the job security for them? There are¹²⁰ almost five lakh retired employees who have been requesting for ages about their pay revision. Still, their request has not¹⁴⁰ (1) been accepted. But the banks have lakhs of crores of rupees in their corpus fund. Why can the Government not implement the pay revision? I would request the Government to stop privatising the public sector banks.

Sir, I agree with the point raised by my honourable friend that States are making slow progress in taking the Central share from Delhi. There is a basic reason. We are in the age of transparency. The Ministry of Finance has introduced a new pattern of disbursement to all the line ministries in the Government of India and all the line ministries are also²⁴⁰ persuading the respective State Governments to work in a more transparent manner. The Government of India releases the fund when States deposit their 40 per cent share to the respective department. States have their own financial structure. A lot of²⁸⁰ States are taking a progressive stance. A lot of States (2) have their own way of functioning. The Finance Ministry and all the line ministries are persuading the State Governments. This is a transitional phase. I hope that by the end of this Financial Year, there will be a substantial improvement in all these areas. This is a new pattern which the Government of India is following. This money belongs to the common man of this country. Every penny has to³⁶⁰ be spent in a transparent manner. This is the effort of our Government. Most of the State Governments are cooperating. Gradually, it will improve. The States have to adhere to the financial discipline as jointly agreed by the Government of India and the States.

Sir, I would like to say that there has been no effort from the Government of⁴²⁰ India to develop the rubber industry in recent years in my constituency. Natural rubber is one of the most important plantation crops grown in my constituency and most of the (3) people ae depending on rubber plantations for their livelihoods. Among the various demands, the establishment of a rubber research centre takes the first priority. In this regard, it is understood⁴⁸⁰ from the district authorities and the concerned officials in the State Government that a series of efforts have been made in the recent past. Based on the request from the Rubber Board, around 166 hectares of land area has been identified in my constituency. The identified land has been offered to the Rubber Board for a minimal annual lease amount of Rs. 10 lakhs. However, the Rubber Board has kept the matter pending for want of approval of⁵⁶⁰ the recurring expenditure of Rs. 10 lakhs being the lease amount for the proposed land. I urge upon the Union Government to issue the necessary direction to set up the rubber research centre in my constituency at the earliest.  

          Sir, last week⁶⁰⁰  this House discussed the Demand for Grant relating (4) to Railways, which is the largest public transport network in our country. Several honourable Members expressed apprehensions on the impact of privatisation of Railways by the Central Government. Today, the discussion is about another significant public transport system that is, the National Highways. Tomorrow we are going to discuss Shipping and Civil Aviation and the basic requirements for it. Sir, this Government is implementing privatisation policies here as well. The big ports, airports, and air services including Air India, have been privatised. The Central Government has transformed itself into a⁷⁰⁰ dealer of privatisation of this country’s primary assets. I would request the hon. Minister to kindly look into it and take steps⁷²⁰ to save our roads which are the nerves of our public transport system. I have faith and confidence in him. I appreciate his sincerity. I am grateful to him for allocating a sizeable amount in the Budget for important projects of this Government. In India, we are heavily (5) dependent on road transport, both for freight and passenger movement. As per the latest data, over 70 per cent of freight traffic and about 85 per cent of passenger traffic is dependent on road transport. This shows the importance of increasing the road transport infrastructure. This overdependence on road transport in both passenger and freight sectors makes it absolutely necessary to maintain our roads and highways in good condition with all⁸⁴⁰ amenities. The Government of India has privatised the air traffic sector and privatisation in Railways is also progressing. Now, the only major traffic system remaining with the Government is the road transport. Hence, I request the Government to seriously consider this, and prepare and implement projects to meet the demand of road traffic for a period of at least coming 30 years in a mission mode. The Government should implement the projects within next five years. I would like to suggest that the Government should give top priority (6) to highway projects in order to upgrade the quality of the existing highways to international level by providing all modern facilities and also make them capable of addressing the growing needs of⁹⁶⁰ the next three decades. The main objective of the highways is to reduce distance and time between the major cities⁹⁸⁰ and to carry majority of the freight traffic on roads. This will include development of bypasses, bridges, and flyovers. A major portion of our roads are not suitable to meet the growing demands of the country. Though the number of vehicles is increasing every year, our investment on roads is far below the requirement. As a result of this fast vehicular growth, and insufficient roads with poor conditions, the number of motor accidents has increased. At present, the increasing number of road accidents and casualties are a major concern. India ranks first in the road accident deaths. The Government should¹⁰⁸⁰ take immediate steps to control this situation. Imparting (7) awareness to drivers and the public is essential. Similarly, steps should be taken to include traffic rules in the curriculum of schools and colleges. I still remember some lessons that I had¹¹²⁰ learnt during my school and college life. The Government may also consider developing other modes of transport like waterways and sea routes after providing sufficient connectivity with the existing network of roads and railways.

Sir, whenever ‍we ‍talk ‍about ‍the‍ word‍ ‘infrastructure’, ‍ the ‍first‍ few words that come to our minds are, roads, highways, and transport. Today, we are discussing the Demands for Grants of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. India has the second largest road network in¹²⁰⁰ the world. It is consisting of National Highways, Expressways, State Highways, major district roads, other district roads and village roads, out of which we have 1.41 lakh kilometres of National Highways. The allocations have increased and some major announcements have also been made, which is (8) a good thing. I have certain questions and suggestions on which I¹²⁶⁰ would like to have a response from the Ministry. A large number of National Highways across the country have dangerous potholes and they need to be maintained in a better state. I would request the Minister to allocate some part of the maintenance budget to monitor the vast network of National Highways across the country. It will prevent any possible accidents due to the poor state of National Highways. There is need for a research fund not only to study road construction techniques and materials utilized but also to study and develop a better system to monitor the quality of roads across the vast network of National Highways in the country. One of the major challenges, while travelling on highways, is the absence of proper signs and directions for necessary facilities like toilet for women, police station, trauma care centre,¹⁴⁰⁰ (9) and hospital. I would like to suggest the hon. Minister to include a mandatory clause for the contractors while constructing a highway that there should be proper signs displaying information about the nearby police station, hospital, and trauma care centre. If any accident happens, people can contact the local administration. The Standing Committee on Transport has mentioned that given the huge allocation made to the National Highways Authority of India each year, the Ministry should ensure that sufficient manpower is in place so as to make optimal utilization of the available funds. I request the Ministry to have a review of the existing recruitment rules of the National Highways Authority of India, and the same may be finalized at the earliest. Sincere efforts may be made to ensure that all the vacancies in the National Highways Authority of India are (10) filled up as soon as possible.