Jobs promise readies Lalu for state polls

RAILWAY BUDGET 2004-05/ POLITICS OF THE BUDGET

Railway Minister Lalu Prasad leveraged his first Budget to reach his political constituency ahead of the Bihar Assembly elections.

Without spending any significant additional money on the scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and OBCs, unorganised labour on railway platforms, etc, Prasad won kudos by merely promising, in the Railway Budget, to address the employment needs of this section of Indian society, thus recognising them as a social group.

Prasad extended the common minimum programme (CMP) to the Railway Budget by stressing all Railways employees would henceforth be covered by a health insurance scheme. This is running as a pilot scheme in 50 districts.

The scheme, he said, would be modified to apply to licensed porters (coolies), vendors, hawkers, people working in stalls, cycle stands, construction workers, etc.

Calling it an "unorganised workers' social security fund", the scheme, he said, would get a grant from the ministry, which would include coverage for those who are self-employed (like coolies) and those who are under contract.

The scheme, he said, envisaged a personal accident insurance cover of Rs 1 lakh and a minimum old-age pension of Rs 500 per month after 60. In addition, there will be improved shelters for coolies and a privilege pass for their wives, in addition to the porters themselves.

The Railway Budget also has a provision for a special drive to clear the backlog for recruitment in Group A jobs for scheduled tribe candidates, and the shortfall in filling direct recruitment quota posts in Groups C and D for OBCs. New quotas have also been announced to run bookstalls on platforms.

Prasad pointed out that while trains for high-end tourists, like the Palace-on-Wheels, was being run by the Railways, there were no such facilities for the common man, especially from small towns and villages.

"We propose to run special tourist trains of ordinary sleeper class coaches," Prasad said. The trains will collect tourists from a region and take them to important places of religious and historical importance at an affordable cost.

The Budget also promises to implement the facility of free travel to the unemployed youth for attending interviews for central government jobs, which was an earlier pledge, but could not be implemented.

Prasad attempted to tug at the heartstrings by giving concessions to patients of haemophilia, deaf and dumb persons, widows of defence personnel, etc.

Apparently undeterred by the lack of success of transporting vegetables from Patna to Delhi, Prasad announced the movement of milk by tankers across the country, and more refrigerated parcel vans for fruit, vegetables and other perishable commodities.

More milk products "" like buttermilk and lassi "" are in the offing for passengers. As a caste, the Yadavs are largely engaged in pastoral occupations.