In India, in addition to the government budget, the railway budget is awaited eagerly. As the
details show the Ministry of Railways must "listen" to the various state demands, form of
devolution that I referred to in an earlier post. By the way Lalu Prasad Yadav comes from a low
caste and is quite a maverick. He has shown the upper castes that he is an equal crook if not a
smarter one. When he was jailed for the "fodder scam", aka siphoning off government
funds for fodder (the project amount was close to a billion usd) he installed his illiterate wife
as the Chief Minister (perfectly legal though since it was a party matter).
Cheers, anthony
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Lalu cuts fares, angers Left
Saturday, February 25,2006
NEW DELHI: Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav on Friday presented a populist Railway Budget for 2006-07 to the tune of Rs 23,475 crore.
The Budget is a major turnaround story for the Railways, thanks to the booming
economy, which is reflected in the high growth in earnings from tariff.
Waking up to the competition from the cheaper airfare and other public
carriers, Mr Yadav slashed the AC fares and did not hike the freight tariff, a
decision that has brought him kudos from the common man and the industry. The
Railway Minister also did not hike passenger fares.
However, the long-term impact of such populist measures were criticized by
experts who feel that passenger fares were the cheapest in India and there was
need to mobilise additional revenue for expansion and modernisation of the
Railways.
Mr Yadav's Budget, however, failed to impress the Opposition as well as UPA
allies like the Left and Samajwadi Party, who created a ruckus in the House,
criticising the regional imbalance in the Budget.
Amid commotion and thumping applause, Mr Yadav announced the introduction of four
air-conditioned Garib Raths for "poor passengers" who would pay 25 per cent
less than they pay for travelling in the three-tier AC sleeper of Rajdhani Express or any
other train.
As a pilot project, Garib Raths would initially ply on a weekly basis between
Delhi-Patna, Delhi-Mumbai, Delhi-Chennai and Saharsa-Amritsar. The
Saharsa-Amritsar Rath would be bi-weekly, running via Barauni, Hajipur, Sonpur,
Chhapra and Gorakhpur. A passenger would pay around Rs 900 for travelling to
Mumbai from Delhi against the normal fare of Rs 1,140 in the Golden Temple
Express. A garib passenger travelling in AC sleeper from Patna to Delhi would
pay around Rs 900 against the normal fare of Rs 1,220 on Rajdhani Express.
Poor "milkmen and farmers" would get a 50 per cent concession in the sleeper
class if they travel for training purposes. Otherwise, they will have to pay the full
fare. A farmer travelling from Bhagalpur in Bihar to Delhi would pay only around Rs 200
against the normal fare of Rs 395 if he is visiting, say, the Indian Agriculture Research
Institute at Pusa Road in the Capital, for tips or training. Earlier, they received a 50
per cent concession in the second-class category only.
In order to meet the stiff competition from airlines, Mr Yadav has decided to cut AC-I
and AC-II fares by 18 per cent and 10 per cent, respectively. "The fare cut would
help us greatly in dealing with the problem of around 50 per cent vacancies in these
categories during non-peak seasons," JP Batra, chairman, Railway Board, said at the
post-Budget Press conference. Mr Batra did not rule out more concessions in the days to
come in 2006, the Year of Passengers -Service with a Smile.
In all, the Railway Ministry has decided to run 55 new trains across the country. Three
Garib Nawaz weekly trains will ply from Kishanganj, Ranchi and Yashwantpur and Bangalore.
Four popular trains with "world-class passenger amenities and interiors" would
also ply. These are Hazrat Nizamuddin-Gwalior Taj Express, New Delhi-Patna Sa-mpoorn
Kranti Express, Chennai Bangalore Vrindavan Express and New Delhi-Barauni Vaishali
Express. In all, 55 new trains have been introduced.
Reacting to the alleged regional imbalance in introducing the new trains from different
political parties, Mr Yadav said no states have been overlooked in any respect in the new
Budget. "West Bengal has got nine new trains along with the extension of three
trains. Frequency of four trains from West Bengal has also been increased. Uttar Pradesh
would get 20 additional trains, 10 of the existing trains will be extended and
frequencies of four be will be increased. Maharashtra has got 15 new trains, 11 extended
trains and increase in frequencies of four trains," he told reporters at a
post-Budget conference.
"Tamil Nadu has got 10 new trains, and the extension of seven trains. For Andhra Pradesh, there would be 13 new trains, extension would be given to 11 trains and frequencies of one train would be increased," he said and added, "Efforts are on to reduce the travel time of the New Delhi-Howrah Rajdhani Express in two phases by one hour so that it departs after office hours and reaches Howrah before office time. The travel time of all Rajdhani Expressess, including the New Delhi-Patna Rajdhani, would also be reduced." Railway is currently relishing a "historical turnaround in the financial situation" with the fund balances having grown to Rs 11,000 crore and the Ministry's internal generation before dividend, reaching a historic level of Rs 11,000 crore, funds that Mr Yadav ostensibly needs to "make Indian Railways the best in the world." The freight growth in the current financial year is 10
per cent and freight revenues are up 18 per cent. The freight-loading target has been increased from 635 million tonnes to 668 million tonnes for 2006-07 and the goods revenue target increased from Rs 33,480 crore to Rs 36,490 crore. As per the Ministry estimate, the passenger earnings, other coaching earnings and sundry other earnings are likely to register a growth of 7, 19 and 56 per cent, respectively. The gross traffic revenue is expected to be around Rs 54,600 crore, which is higher as compared to the previous year and the Budget estimates of the current year by 16 and 7 per cent, respectively.
The Ministry has proposed to construct a dedicated multi-modal high axle load
freight corridor with computerised control on Western and Eastern routes at an
estimated cost of Rs 22,000 crore. In the first phase of the Eastern Corridor
Project, a separate freight corridor will be built from Ludhiana to Sonnagar
via Ambala, Saharanpur, Khurja and Allahabad. The primary feeder routes from
Sonnagar to Durgapur via Gomoh, Sonnagar to Tatanagar via Garhwa Road and
Barkakana to Bokaro via Chandrapura will be upgraded.
"It will also be extended up to ports in West Bengal as per traffic needs. The
primary feeder routes will be converted to a dedicated freight corridor at the
appropriate time. The Western Corridor will start from Jawaharlal Nehru Port and will be
routed via Vadodara, Ahmedabad, Palanpur, Jaipur and Rewari to Tughlakabad and Dadri.
Both the corridors will be joined by a link between Dadri and Khurja. The feeder routes
of the Western Corridor connecting ports of Gujarat will be upgraded," Mr Yadav said.
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Rail Budget 2006 - 07
* Largest ever plan outlay of Rs 23,475 crores
* No increase in passenger fare, freight rates
* Freight rates of diesel and petrol less by 8 per cent
* Fifty-five new trains, including four air-conditioned Garib Rath weekly
trains. Bihar gets 12 trains
* 30 per cent discount in non-peak season, 20 per cent in peak season on
incremental freight
* Fare cut by 18 per cent and 10 per cent in AC-I and ACCC-II respectively
* Over 200 mail and express trains to be made superfast
* 200 automatic ticket vending machines in Mumbai suburban area to be installed
* Four popular trains to have world-class passenger amenities
* Village ticket booking service for unemployed youth. Jansadharan ticket booking scheme for unemployed youth, which would man prepaid UTS counters
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The Pioneer | The Tribune |
RELATED STORIES
• 55 new trains, 35 extensions
• Govt proposes Rs 22,000 crore rail corridors
• Gifts to keep allies in good humour
• On track: Lalu takes the route to reform
• 240 projects worth Rs 47,000 cr pending
• Railway finances running on time
• Fare war with airlines in offing?
• Rail Budget forward-looking: Manmohan
• Bengal poll behind CPM's wrath
• Railway Budget populist, lacking vision: Opposition
RELATED OPINION
• Lalu on right track
• Another smooth journey
• Train to nowhere
• On Right Track
• On track
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Anthony P. D'Costa, Professor
Comparative International Development
Abe Fellow (2005-06)
University of Washington
1900 Commerce Street
Tacoma, WA 98402, USA
Phone: (253) 692-4462
Fax : (253) 692-5718
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