The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Rail budget lacks long-term perspective: Jayalalithaa

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Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Rail budget lacks long-term perspective: Jayalalithaa

Special Correspondent

CHENNAI: Without substantial investment in key areas such as infrastructure development and expansion proposals, the railway budget announced by Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee will be largely decorative and lacking in long-term perspective, AIADMK general secretary Jayalalithaa said on Friday.

In a statement here, she said that the new UPA government’s first railway budget “superficially gives the impression of being a pro-people affair.”

Ms. Jayalalithaa pointed out that integrating information technology with the fast track operations of the Railways to improve efficiency, total digitalisation of signalling systems, elimination of accident-prone level crossings by making them safe with suitable bridges or subways, construction of high-speed corridors on high density routes, setting up of new freight corridors and introduction of bullet trains between key metros were some of the pioneering initiatives that should have found a place in the budget.

“Ms. Banerjee’s presentation was more in the “feel-good” vein and did not deal with hard numbers, making one wonder whether the positive picture of a profit-making railway set-up painted by the UPA during the Lalu Prasad era was a mirage and whether a cover-up operation is now under way,” Ms. Jayalalithaa wondered.

She said Ms. Banerjee’s focus appeared to be on her vote bank, as almost all the major projects announced by her were earmarked for places such as Lalgarh, Nandigram and Singur in West Bengal. “South India, particularly Tamil Nadu, has not figured in her scheme of things at all.”

Raw deal for State

PMK leader S. Ramadoss alleged that Tamil Nadu had been given a raw deal in the budget and most of the projects initiated by the ministers of his party in the previous regimes would suffer a setback. Dr. Ramadoss said the PMK minister was instrumental in allocating Rs.1,327 crore to the projects in Tamil Nadu. He, however, welcomed the passenger-friendly schemes.

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