Debt Servicing Fund in right direction: Vivek Sahai

The Railway Budget 2013 was an opportunity before Mr Bansal to steer the railways towards safe waters and he has succeeded in this direction, albeit partially. Introduction of a fuel surcharge is a bold, yet eminently sagacious decision — a crying need of the time. That the minister did not duck this issue speaks amply about his firm and confident demeanour. Full points to him. But I wish he had gone full force after some issues he had delved upon.

First and foremost, the decision to remove level crossings. It would have been better if all the the 13,000 or more unmanned level crossings had been planned to be removed in a five year period, either by manning or discontinuation and in addition, about 5,000 manned crossings could be supplanted by ROB/subways. If acted upon sincerely, this target is within the realms of possibility. Also, the target of freight growth of four per cent is too low. To extricate the railways from its financial morass, the target should have been around eight per cent. The minister did not touch upon expediting the much-awaited accounting reforms, hanging fire for almost 10 years and a sine qua non for instilling confidence and faith in the mindset of private players desirous of partnering railways in its capital-intensive projects.

Introduction of a Debt Servicing Fund is a step in the right direction that would steady the railways’ finances, when it is going in for loans from the World Bank and Japan International Cooperation Agency for it’s ambitious Dedicated Freight Corridor Programme. More of these are urgently needed for enhancement of capacity on the Indian railway system, the veritable lifeline of the country. All together, a very balanced budget, for which the minister deserves all credit.

Vivek Sahai
Former Chairman, Railway Board