The Railways have decided to spruce up their 'depreciation reserve fund' by putting in need-based amounts in the account against the present system of availability-based accruals from the surplus generated from their operations.
The balance in the fund, which is used to fund replacement of ageing railway infrastructure like tracks, rolling stock and bridges, has fallen from a healthy Rs 1434 crore in 1997-98 to just Rs 50.81 crore as per revised estimates for 2000-01. Even at the end of the current year, the balance in the fund has been projected at Rs 157.87 crore.
"The healthy balance in the fund got eroded as the Railways drew more money from the fund than was put into it. But the new minister (Nitish Kumar) is laying greater emphasis on the fund and we have decided to make provisions for depreciation on a need basis," a senior official said.
Accruals to the fund, as also the Safety Fund, Capital Fund and Development Fund are not made from the internal resource generation (IRG) component of the Railways' earnings after providing for its operating expenses. But the total balance in the four funds has been falling over the years as the Railways used their reserves to keep their operating ratio (amount of money spent for earning every Rs 100) in check.
