Taking note of Railways' poor performance during Eleventh Plan, a parliamentary panel has asked it to ensure that targets fixed for raising resources during the next five-year plan are optimally achieved.
The 11th Plan targeted at Rs 2,33,289 crore with Gross Budgetary Support of Rs 63,635 crore but fell short by Rs 42,449 crore.
The Standing Committee on Railways in its report on Demands for Grants for 2013-14 observed that against the target of Rs 99,000 crore for internal resources and Rs 79,654 crore of extra budgetary support, railways could raise only Rs 66,704 crore and Rs 48,504 crore leaving a shortfall of Rs 23,296 crore and Rs 31,154 crore respectively.
The 31-member committee headed by DMK MP TR Baalu expressed serious concern over the increasing throw-forward of railway infrastructure projects due to sanctioning of new projects annually by the Railway Ministry much beyond the resources available.
As on April 2012, there have been pending projects of 132 new lines, 42 gauge conversion, 174 doubling, 39 electrification and 2 dedicated freight corridors (DFC) projects, according to the report.
In financial terms, there has been throw-forward of Rs 89,792 crore for new lines, Rs 18,659 crore for gauge conversion, Rs 38,766 crore for doubling, Rs 6229 crore for electrification and Rs 93,860 crore for DFC.
Further, there are as many as 88 railway projects which were sanctioned as far back as 20 years ago but are still in the limbo and lying incomplete, reflecting poorly on the working of railways, it said.
Besides cost over-run in due to delayed completion, the committee has apprehended decline in utility of several of these projects and recommended a proper review at the highest level in the ministry with regard to these projects.
