Eastern Railway Budget

Politics seemed to prevail over sound economics as the railway minister, Ms Mamata Banerjee, took to the stage once again on Wednesday to present her second Railway Budget in the last seven months.

The goodies doled out to the Trinamul Congress leader’s home state came as no surprise given Ms Banerjee’s determination to dislodge the Marxists from power in next year’s Assembly election in West Bengal.

With no increase in passenger fares for the seventh year running and no revision in freight rates either this year, the railways will need to raise resources from other avenues.

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Mamata flags off gravy train

No bragging, no big-bang announcements. As anticipated, the first Railway Budget presented by Ms Mamata Banerjee on Friday was more like a thanksgiving speech that was full of political overtones and populist measures.

Keeping her word that the budget will be “of the people, for the people”, Ms Banerjee came up with lots of goodies for all and sundry.

There were no fare hikes for railway passengers. Industry and exporters reeling under the economic slowdown were also spared from any hike in freight rates. Ms Banerjee announced 57 new trains, a new “Izzat” scheme for people with a monthly income less than Rs 1,500, allowing them to travel up to 100 km every day on a Rs 25 monthly pass, women-only suburban trains in Delhi, Chennai and Kolkata and cheap “Yuva” trains for young people.

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Mamata may present Rail Budget on July 8

The railway minister, Ms Mamata Banerjee, is likely to present the Rail Budget in the Lok Sabha on July 8.“The Rail Budget is likely to be presented on July 8.The ministry is preparing a status report to be presented before the railway minister.

The report is to be submitted in a day or two and after that the budget outline will be drawn by the minister,” a senior ministry official said.

The ministry is likely to shell out about Rs 14,000 crore to its staff because of the implementation of the sixth pay commission in the current fiscal. The current operating ratio of 88 per cent is likely to be affected due to the implementation of the pay commission report, said the official. The railways have often drawn flak from passengers for low quality food being served and unhygienic conditions prevailing in trains and platforms. “Some drastic measures need to be taken to improve passenger amenities like food quality and cleanliness in trains,” the official said.

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