XI LOK SABHA DEBATES, Session IV (Budget)

XI LOK SABHA DEBATES, Session IV (Budget) 

XI LOK SABHA DEBATES, Session IV (Budget)

Monday, March 10, 1997 / Phalguna 19, 1918 (Saka)

*t16

Type of Debate: BUDGET (RAILWAYS)

Title: General Discussion (Railways), 1997-98, Demands for Grants on Account,
1997-98, Demands for Excess Grants, 1994-95 and Demands for Supplementary
Grants for Railways 1996-97. (Cont.-Not Concluded)

TEXT :

RAILWAY BUDGET -- GENERAL DISCUSSION

DEMANDS FOR EXCESS GRANTS -- RAILWAYS

DEMANDS FOR SUPPLEMENTARY GRANTS -- RAILWAYS -- Contd.

MR. DEPUTY-SPEAKER: Now, we will take up further discussion on the Budget
(Railways), 1997-98. The time allotted for this discussion is nine hours; and
the time already taken is one hour and 21 minutes. So, the balance time is
seven hours and 39 minutes.

Shri Sriballav Panigrahi to continue his speech.

... (Interruptions)

SHRI RAM NAIK (MUMBAI NORTH):

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MR. DEPUTY-SPEAKER: I will let you know later on. I will discuss the matter
with the Speaker.

SHRI RAM NAIK (MUMBAI NORTH): Right, Sir.

SHRI BASU DEB ACHARIA (BANKURA): Sir, my suggestion is that instead of
continuing during the night, this debate can continue tomorrow and also day
after tomorrow -- three days.

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and then I will let you know
the decision.

SHRI NIRMAL KANTI CHATTERJEE (DUMDUM): Sir, I raised this point with the
Speaker also in the House itself. Tomorrow, the BAC is meeting. It is proposed
that on 13th, that is, Thursday, the discussion on UP under rule 184 would be
taken up. If that be so, then the General Budget Discussion should not be
started before that, because that will mean a break.

So, it is much better that the debates on Railway Budget be spread
over today, tomorrow and day after tomorrow instead of spurt of whole night
discussion; and after the discussion on UP is taken up on 14th, from Monday
next the General Budget can take place. In the meantime, if the time is
available, the Bills which are to replace Ordinances can be passed.

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SHRI NIRMAL KANTI CHATTERJEE (DUMDUM): Yes, Sir.

1240 hours

SHRI SRIBALLAV PANIGRAHI (DEOGARH): Last Friday when I was speaking on this
subject, I was dealing with the inflationary aspect of this Budget. As I
pointed out, there has been a freight hike of the order of 23.2 per cent in a
brief period of just about eight months. This has also cascading effect on our
economy. This freight hike together with five per cent service tax on
transporters for movement of goods on road as proposed by the Finance Minister
in the General Budget, that too with the impending price hike of petroleum
products, will push up inflation rate by at least 3.2 per cent and it will go
beyond the double digit mark. It will be about 12 per cent.

In respect of coal alone, there will be an increase of Rs.45 per
tonne. In respect of petrol there has been an increase of eight paise per
litre, on HSD nine paise per litre and on cement 244 paise per bag containing
50 kgs. The Chairman of the SAIL has come out saying how adversely it will
affect the steel sector. He said it will cost SAIL Rs.180 crore more. This
will be the effect.

Then I come to the Annual Plan outlay. This time an amount of Rs.8300
crore is there in the Budget for Plan expenditure. This is exactly the same as
in the outgoing year. In the outgoing year it was round about Rs.8300 crore
and in the new financial year commencing from 1st April, about the same amount
is proposed. Naturally, in real terms it will be at least 12 per cent less
than what it was in the outgoing year. Taking inflation into consideration, it
will be less at least by 12 per cent compared with the outgoing year's
provision. This is where we are heading to in the Railway sector. Therefore
you kindly allow me to give some figures which will indicate whether it is a
progressive Budget or a regressive Budget. In very important areas of Railways
like railway revenue, it is less this time. In respect of new line
construction, of course, there has been some increase in this year's Budget.
Last time it was Rs.283.88 crore. But this time it is raised to Rs.399.89
crore or roughly Rs.400 crore. But what is the amount required? According to
this price structure or price schedule, at least Rs.2000 crore is needed to
complete the ongoing line construction projects. It may be much more than
that. But the modest estimate is Rs.2000 crore. Some people say it may be
Rs.3000 crore and some experts say Rs.2000 crore. But even if you take the
lower side, it will be Rs.2000 crore.

We have to take it that if we go on like this whatever projects are
on-going, it will take about one century, the whole of the 21st Century for
the completion of those projects.

My next point is regarding surveys. Thirty-nine surveys have been
proposed in the Budget Speech of the hon. Minister of Railways. It was said by
the former Minister of Railways, late Lalit Narain Mishra, `If there is a
will, there is a railway; if there is no will, there is a survey'. If you look
at that from that point of view, so many lines are included for survey only to
satisfy the hon. Members. They talk of balanced growth in Railways, that they
are fighting out regional imbalances and so on by providing money for the
North-East. I welcomed this on Friday. There is a tendency in this year's
Budget for regional imbalances to grow. Out of thirty-nine surveys, eight are
in only one State, the State to which the hon. Prime Minister belongs and
another eight more are in one other State and for the rest of the country
there will be only 22 or 23 surveys. Of course, while replying to the queries
of the Pressmen somewhere in Bengal or Assam, the hon. Prime Minister said
that all States are being treated equally by the Railways. There was a
searching question to the hon. Prime Minister that in respect of certain
States, especially in his own district in his own State, the Budget is
overburdened with proposals. I do not know about it. The hon. Minister of
Railways will do well to clarify the position. In Karnataka, in one district
itself Rs.130 crore worth projects have been provided.

I do not mind any State getting anything. But I talk of social justice
and I say that regional imbalances should not be there. We have a doctrine
that in a Cabinet system, all Members of the Cabinet are equal and that the
Prime Minister is first among equals. Of course, the Prime Minister is first
among equals. Probably the hon. Minister of Railways has kept this in mind
when he treated all the other States as equals and treated the States of the
hon. Prime Minister and the hon. Minister of Railways as much more than
equals. Have they done justice to this new doctrine? Have they provided
something much higher than what they have provided for the other States? I do
not know. But certainly these imbalances should be removed and all States
should be treated equally.

Of course, in respect of backward States, there is a good provision.
Six States have been named as backward: Bihar, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh,
Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and one more State. In respect of these States
liberal funds should be provided and new lines should also be drawn up. There
are certain proposals for providing rail links. For instance, the
Jakhpura-Banspani line will open up mining and forest areas in Orissa. Orissa
is a paradox. There are abundant natural resources but the people of Orissa
are suffering from abject poverty. Naturally, when the question of the new
project comes up, these projects will be treated as national projects because
these projects will contribute to the economic growth not only of Orissa but
to economic growth of the country as a whole. Certain railway lines should be
treated as national projects and top priority should be given to them.
Whenever there is a new programme, a provision for a new line is made, I
think, it will be better if we could say that by a certain date the project
would be completed. What I suggest is that there should be a time-bound
programme for new lines to be taken up, for the construction of new lines to
be taken up and finished.

Now, I come to gauge conversion. This is an important area. In the
last year, the amount allocated was Rs.1201.01 crore. It has now been reduced
to Rs.996 crore. It is even less than Rs.1,000 crore.

As regards doubling, last year Rs.206.36 crore were allotted, but this
year it has been reduced to Rs.178.01 crore. Let us come to computerisation. I
need not highlight the importance of computerisations in these days. Last year
Rs.62.58 crore were allotted, but this year the allocation has been reduced to
Rs.35 crore which is less than fifty per cent.

Last year, the allocation for rolling stock was Rs.2020.91 crore, but
this year it has been shamelessly reduced to Rs.1208.29 crore. After the
presentation of the Railway Budget on the 26th February, just see how many
accidents, robberies, dacoities and violent incidents have taken place. All
these have happened within such a short period of two weeks. This should not
be brushed aside and should not be taken lightly. A serious note of all these
things should be taken.

For signalling and telecommunication also, this year the provision is
less. The fares are going up, but the passenger amenities are going down. Last
year, the provision for passenger amenities was Rs.103.59 and this year it has
come down to Rs.80 crore. Like this, in several important areas the provision
is less. As I told you, whatever be the plan outlay, in real terms the
provision is less.

Look at the growth rate. We have posed a growth rate of 7.2 per cent.
Yesterday I was reading a newspaper in which it was reported that hon.
Minister of Finance, Chidambaramji, has said that by the end of the century,
the economic growth rate of our country would be around eight per cent and the
industrial growth would be twelve per cent. Taking this into view, should the
Railways not plan their programmes accordingly? Already there is a gap between
the requirement and the real situation. Further, this gap will only widen very
fast because their growth rate is only six per cent to seven per cent.

As regards the goods traffic, year before last, they had transported
390 million tonnes of goods, last year they had transported 410 million tonnes
and this year they have proposed to transport 433 million tonnes of goods.
What is the growth rate? It is hardly five per cent, whereas the annual
industrial growth rate is twelve per cent and the overall economic growth rate
is seven per cent to eight per cent.

Moreover, 33 per cent of the total coaches and wagons are over-aged.
They cannot be used. The electrification of railway lines is only nineteen per
cent. So, look at the present situation. We are having a miserable situation
today in different areas of functioning of Railways.

The National Transport Committee recommended for 72-73 per cent of the
total goods and passenger traffic to be carried or to be borne by the
Railways. On the other day, I said that it is only 20 per cent. Sixty per cent
of the transport is going to the road sector. Further, it would go down. By
the end of the century, 63 per cent to 67 per cent would go to the road
sector. If the Railways can carry 72 per cent of the goods traffic, then
another Rs.16000 crore would be saved. Shri Basudeb Acharia will bear me out
when I say that, if the Railways can take care of the whole coal movement that
is being offered by the Coal India Limited, they can earn another
Rs.5,000-6,000 crore.

Who is now to be blamed? So, if you consider this Budget from all these
angles, I would say that it is unimaginative, it is uninspiring and also, it
is not commensurate with the growth that we are having; and much more has got
to be done about it.

There were so many committees that were appointed earlier which have
made indepth studies about the requirements of our future, about the condition
that the Railways is facing today and also about what should be done regarding
this. Railways had a Corporate Plan for a 15 year period, that is, from 1980
to 1995. Railways also had an umpteen number of committees like Dr. M N
Nanjundappa Committee, Prakash Tandon Committee, Poul Committee. These
Committees have also given their recommendations, as the National Transport
Policy Committee has given. What has happened to the recommendations of all
these Committees? They are now lying in cold storage. There is no dearth of
such studies, but there is a dearth of will power. Just taking populist
measures will not help; a time has come now when there has got to be a
national consensus about our transport sector.

I would like to quote from a World Bank report of 1995 entitled `India

-- Transport Sector -- long-term issue', authored by Robert Burnal, which
says:

"Capacity constraint of the transport system together with that
of the power sector, has a far greater constraint on overall
economic growth of India."

This is a discussion on the Railway Budget and I need not say anything
about power situation. Regarding power shortage, what has been the plight of
the people in Delhi which is the Union's Capital, during the winter days?

SHRI ANIL BASU (ARAMBAGH): The only point that you are missing out is that
these are the `accumulated problems' of the last so many years and not of the
last seven months.

SHRI SRIBALLAV PANIGRAHI (DEOGARH): I will come to that. I do not think that
it has happened overnight. I am the last man to say that it has happened
overnight. But I analysed the other day, with facts and figures, how things
have deteriorated. Functioning of the Railways has deteriorated over the
period of last seven or eight months. For the information of the hon. Member
from the CPI(M) Bench, I would say that when they took over the Office, the
rate of inflation was 4.4 per cent. What is it today? It is around eight per
cent. What will it be after two or three months? It would be around 12 per
cent. Railway accidents have also increased nowadays.

When the General Budget was presented, the instant reaction of our
CPI(M) friends was that they have all welcomed it. But today, their
General-Secretary, the most powerful person, Shri Surjeet has said that it is
an elitist Budget. The other day, the West Bengal Chief Minister, Shri Somnath
Chatterjee and others were full of praise for it.

SHRI ANIL BASU (ARAMBAGH): We have said it clearly. We would support all the
positive steps and we would oppose all the negative aspects.

SHRI SRIBALLAV PANIGRAHI (DEOGARH): I will come to all `positive things.'

I would give my proposals on how the Railways can mobilise resources.
We should not have just an ad hoc plan to appease a few sections of the
population. We are not talking about the common passengers, but about the rate
of inflation that is there. It will not spare the common man, it will not
spare any ordinary passenger who has not seen the Railways and he would also
be affected by that.

So, a realistic approach is called for today. Before I come to the
Demands for Grants, I would be doing injustice to my State which is backward
and to the area that I represent in Parliament, if I do not mention its
genuine demands and if I do not request the Government to consider them.

Before that, as I have suggested, we should think as to what should be done
about it. I am not going into the figures as to how many coaches or wagons we
need to add and also about other things. As I said, several studies have been
conducted and a minimum sum of Rs.20,000 crore is needed for completion of the
on-going projects with another minimum sum of about Rs.40,000 to Rs.50,000
crore for electrification and gauge conversion and other things. They have
called for these things.

I have to thank the hon. Minister for one aspect, that is, with his
efforts, there has been an increase in the budgetary support this year. At one
point of time, it was 75 per cent. Then, it came down to a very small figure

of 16 per cent and this year, it is raised to 21 per cent. I have come across
a news item about the Ninth Plan.

MR. DEPUTY-SPEAKER: Shri Panigrahi, you may continue after the Lunch Hour.

1301 hours

The Lok Sabha then adjourned for Lunch till
Fourteen of the Clock.

10.03.97 Uncorrected--Not for Publication ###

))
(bb-cc/1405/snb-sb)

1409 hours

The Lok Sabha re-assembled after Lunch at nine minutes

past Fourteen of the Clock.

(Mr. Deputy-Speaker in the Chair)

RAILWAY BUDGET - GENERAL DISCUSSION

DEMANDS FOR EXCESS GRANTS - RAILWAYS

DEMANDS FOR SUPPLEMENTARY GRANTS - RAILWAYS - Contd.

MR. DEPUTY-SPEAKER : Shri Sriballav Panigrahi.

14.09 hours

SHRI SRIBALLAV PANIGRAHI (DEOGARH): Sir, the growth of the Railways should be
commensurate with the increase in the quantum of traffic and also the New
Economic Policy. I was also referring to the fact that only five per cent
growth has been projected in respect of goods traffic.

In another ten years time, this will be 410 million tonnes. As per some study
made, in another ten years or so the growth of goods traffic will be of the
order of 2000 to 2500 million tonnes. So, to keep pace with the
infrastructural needs of the country which are rising very fast, as the
economy takes off, the Railways need reforms.

I do not know, what is the progress achieved. There was a proposal
regarding some tourist trains to be run by private parties. I do not know what
is the fate of that proposal. If it is successful, we can further increase
running of trains in that sector. I have a few suggestions as to how funds can
be mobilised to meet the increasing needs of the Railways.

The Budgetary support, which has registered an increase from 16 per
cent to 21 per cent, should further be raised in the years to come. We
understand that in the Approach Paper for the Ninth Plan there is a provision
of about Rs.8 lakh crore for public sector. Out of this amount, Rs.3.5 lakh
crore will be by way of Budgetary support. This is a good thing. I think
Railways is a number one public sector enterprise in our country having many
unique features. I need not dwell on it because of time constraint, as also I
do not want to repeat it here. Keeping in view the requirements of the
Railways, adequate Budgetary support should be provided to it in the Ninth
Plan.

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