The Railway Budget for 2012-13 has announced a slew of new projects that will create employment and business opportunities for local vendors. Minister for Railways Dinesh Trivedi has announced the setting up of a rail coach manufacturing unit at Kolar with the active participation of the state government apart from several new trains and line surveys for the state.
The minister has announced four new express trains, three new passenger trains and the development of an ‘adarsh station’ at Haveri during 2012-13. Karnataka will also get a 72 Mw capacity windmill and a safety village at Bangalore. The budget has also announced 14 cost sharing railway projects with the help of state government.
The new express trains announced for the state are: Chennai-Bangalore AC Double-Decker Express (daily), Bidar-Secunderabad Intercity Express (six days a week), Mysore-Sai Nagar Shirdi Express (Weekly) via Bangalore, Dharmavaram, Bellary and Solapur-Yesvantpur Express (Tri-weekly) via Gulbarga. The new passenger trains will run between Mysore-Shravanabelagola (daily), Mysore-Chamarajanagar Passenger (daily) and Mysore-Birur Passenger via Arsikere (daily). The cost sharing projects to be taken up in the state are Bangalore-Hubli and Shimoga town-Talguppa, Kottur-Harihar via Harpanhalli, Hassan-Bangalore via Shravanabelagola, Kadur-Chikmagalur-Sakleshpur, Munirabad-Mahabubnagar, Gulbarga-Bidar (suppl.), Kolar-Chikballapar, Arasikere-Birur-Patch doubling, Ramanagaram-Mysore with electrification of the Kengeri-Mysore, Bagalkot-Kudachi, Rayadurg-Tumkur via Kalyandurg, Tumkur-Chitradurg-Davangere, Shimoga-Harihar and Whitefield-Kolar.
Karnataka is among those states that have come forward to share the cost of the new railway projects. “These projects will be given special attention and processed on priority for obtaining requisite clearances,” Trivedi said in his budget speech. The railway ministry has sent proposal for 12 new line projects to the Planning Commission for appraisal and approval. They include two projects in Karnataka such as Gadag-Haveri and Gadag-Wadi. (WHAT HAS BEEN PROMISED)
List of new line surveys to be taken up during 2012-13 include Haveri-Sirsi, rail link to connect Dandeli to Hubli-Ankola line, Shimoga-Shikaripura-Ranebennur and Madhugiri-Gauribidanur. Gauge conversion works of Kolar-Chintamani and Chikballapur-Siddlagatta as well as doubling of Ramanagar-Channapatna, Mysore-Naganhalli, Maddur-Hanakere, Ballakere-Birur and Birur-Ajjampur (part) would be completed in the new financial year. Doubling of Channapatna-Settihalli, Hanakere-Mandya, Mandya-Yeliyur and Nagavangala-Ajjampur line is scheduled for completion in 2012-13. Expressing their disappointment over the budget, Karnataka Small Scale Industries Association (Kassia) has said the railway budget does not offer any hope to the small industries in the state. “There is no mention about the much spoken industrial corridor between Bangalore and Mumbai on which the fortune of the development of the backward region rests. The small industries do not have any hope of an improved programme of railway workshops or for railway maintenance,” Prakash N Raikar, President, Kassia said in a statement. “Railways have gone ahead to create focussed organisations for improving services and amenities at railway stations. This can lead to an increased role of the private sector in station redevelopment.
However, such initiatives are still at the fringes of railway business. The budget has not ventured into the key focus area for the Expert Group on Modernisation of Indian Railways viz. increase the share of PPP financing from 4 per cent (as in last Five Year Plan) to around 27 per cent in the 12th Plan,” Manish Sharma, Executive Director — Transport & Logistics, PwC India, said. While congratulating the Railway Minister for announcing a slew of proposals, the Bangalore Chamber of Industry and Commerce (BCIC) has welcomed the establishment of an Indian Rail Safety Authority as a statuary regulatory body. The minister’s proposals to remodel and modernise tracks, bridges, signalling and telecommunications, rolling stock and stations will strengthen the safety measures to a large extent, BCIC said.
Vinod Nowal, President, BCIC, lauded Trivedi for setting up an independent Railway Tariff Regulatory Authority that will suggest the level of tariffs for both freight and fares.
H V Harish, Vice President, BCIC, feels that the minister’s pronouncement to restructure the Railway Board along business lines rather than on functional lines in sync with corporate objectives is an applaudable move which will streamline the effective functioning of the Ministry.
As far as Karnataka is concerned, the BCIC is happy to note that a Rail Coach manufacturing unit is being established in Kolar which should generate local employment and development of the region. Introduction of a few new trains including the AC double-decker Chennai-Bangalore (daily) and setting up of a Disaster Management Cell in Bangalore for skill development are some of the welcome measures.
