The former Railway Minister and leader of the Congress in Lok Sabha, M. Mallikarjun Kharge, has blamed the Union government’s failure to provide gross budgetary support to Railways for its present financial problems.
Talking to presspersons here on Friday, Mr. Kharge said that governments, including the NDA government headed by Atal Bihari Vajpayee, had provided gross budgetary support to tide over the financial shortfall to take up new projects and fund the ongoing projects.
Mr. Kharge said that Railways were forced to take loans at high interest rates and ultimately the burden would be passed on to passenger and freight rates.
Mr. Kharge said that Railways was meant to serve the people and it was the duty of the Centre to support it with required funds.
“Starving Railways of funds has now resulted in a lopsided growth of few regions getting favourable approach with plush funds while other regions denied of funds even to complete the ongoing projects,” he added.
He said that although the Railway Board had cleared the proposal for the creation of the Divisional Office at Kalaburagi, Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu is yet to take a call. “The Minister should conduct a Statewise review of the progress achieved in the cost sharing projects and issue necessary directions to the railway authorities to speed up the work,” he said.
Mr. Kharge said that he had led a delegation of seven MPs to meet Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to press for releasing the State’s share in the cost-sharing railway projects few days ago.
Mr. Siddaramaiah had assured him of releasing the funds for the acquisition of land for the proposed Rail Coach building factory at Kolar and had told the delegation that Rs. 25 crore had already been released for land acquisition for the proposed new Gadag-Wadi railway line.
Mr. Kharge also said that the Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences had given its permission to start the ESIC Nursing College in Kalaburagi at the ESIC Medical Education Complex this year.
“I have already spoken to Union Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatereya and Director General of the ESIC to take necessary measures to start the nursing college immediately. I have also requested them to speed up the work of establishing the ESIC Teaching and General Hospital in the ESIC Medical Education Complex,” he added.
He said that Railways was meant to serve the people and it was the duty of the Centre to support it with required funds
