Railway minister Mamata Banerjee tells Saubhadra Chatterjee, soon after her Budget presentation, that there is no shortage of funds. Edited excerpts:
Don’t you think, given the railways’ financial condition, that this Budget will be difficult to implement?
Who says railway finances are in bad shape? Internal generation of revenue has reached Rs 75,000 crore. I have not defaulted in the dividend, saved Rs 3,700 crore in austerity measures. Which other ministry has been able to save so much money? This year, the financial performance of the railways is very good.
I have opened a window of opportunity for the private sector to participate in the development of railways. Public sector units like SAIL and NTPC have already entered into joint ventures. So far, 85 proposals have come to us under the public-private partnership mode. Our officials are considering the proposals.
Critics say West Bengal has always remained the focus of your rail budgets.
Absolutely wrong; I have given so much to other states as well. Just see how much I have given to Bihar. I have given Manipur a railway factory. I have given a railway factory to Jammu and Kashmir. Who has ever done these things for the far-flung areas? For 10 years, Bengal didn’t get anything. Nobody protested at that time. Yes, I am proud of Bengal but I love all other states as well.
You have to understand that I have limited resources. I can’t announce 100 factories with these resources. I have tried to take care of each and every part of the state but, yes, I am not God. I can’t satisfy all the MPs.
I have worked very hard this time to prepare this budget. And, I can proudly say, people have not seen such a nice budget in the past. This is a balanced budget. This is an industry-oriented, people-oriented budget.
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How will you get land to set up all these proposed projects? You are already facing land problems for the freight corridor and even in projects of West Bengal.
We already have a land bank of Indian Railways. I will set up factories only where I get railway land. There will be no forcible land acquisition. In Singur, I had sought land from the state government but they couldn’t give it. Now, there are people who voluntarily want to give land for the railway project near Singur. The railways, too, have some land in that area. So, my promise to Singur will be fulfilled.
Remember, I am setting up industries in a planned manner. As the railways are expanding, we need to generate indigenous logistics as well. When I enquired about new rakes for the Kolkata metro, I was told I have to buy doors from the US and windows from Switzerland. We want to produce all these things in India, to boost our economy.
While you have announced a host of new projects, there is already a long list of ongoing or previously-announced projects awaiting completion.
I want to make it very clear that I have not stopped work in any old project. Factories proposed at Madhepura, Madhowrah are going to happen. There are some technical issues but we will sort it out. The proposed factory at Kerala Palghat faced some land-related problem. That too, will be solved. I am waiting for the Planning Commission approval for some other issues.
