Kochi: Despite the claims of heavy clout that the Congress leaders from Kerala hold at the Centre, lack of proper homework and lobbying seem to have cost the state dear in the interim railway budget presented in the Parliament on Wednesday.
Despite high hopes, the budget has failed to address thelong-pending challengesof both the rail infrastructure andconnectivity in thestate.
The budget has announced just three trains—a premium train between Thiruvananthapuram and Bangalore, a bi-weekly train between Thiruvananthapuram and Nizamuddin (one through Kottayam and the other through Alappuzha) and a passenger train between Punalur andKanyakumari.
The state was expecting morelong distancetrains, particularly to the north-eastern region, aswell asto placeslike Delhi. But what is more depressing is that the budget did not sanction more short distance MEMU trains to Kerala which has two maintenance stations for such trains remaining underutilised at Kollam and Palakkad. The much neededcompletion of thedoubling work, electrification, introduction of automatic signalling system and other whole rangeof issueshave not figuredsignificantly.
Thereis also no mention of the proposed rail coach factory at Kanjikkode, or surveys for new lines and launch of work on the already announcedlines.
The Congress MPs from the state sought to undermine this. “The budget need not restate the on-going projects like rail coach factory at Kanjikkode or the Sabari line, as well as doubling and electrification works. The allocations for such works will come as routine,” said Union minister of state Kodikkunnil Sureshsaid.
“But the fact remains that the budget speech has not outlined the roadmap for the execution of these projects,” said A Sampath of the CPM. The state minister in charge of Railways, Aryadan Muhamed also said the budget wasdisappointing.
But a closelook atthewish list submitted by Kerala to the railway ministry on the projects to be included in the budget would be an eye-opener to the lack of homework on the part of the state. Many of requests made in the 64-page document submitted by the state in November 2013 are repetitions and some are already implemented.Hardly anyone with some expertise on rail development seems to have vettedthedocument.
“The state must adopt a focussed approach for railway development. Rather than spreading its attention on too many areas,thestate musttarget select areas,” said P Krishnakumar, generalsecretary of the Thrissur railway passengers’ association.
(T. Ramavarman Times of India dt 13-2-2014)
Despite high hopes, the budget has failed to address thelong-pending challengesof both the rail infrastructure andconnectivity in thestate.
The budget has announced just three trains—a premium train between Thiruvananthapuram and Bangalore, a bi-weekly train between Thiruvananthapuram and Nizamuddin (one through Kottayam and the other through Alappuzha) and a passenger train between Punalur andKanyakumari.
The state was expecting morelong distancetrains, particularly to the north-eastern region, aswell asto placeslike Delhi. But what is more depressing is that the budget did not sanction more short distance MEMU trains to Kerala which has two maintenance stations for such trains remaining underutilised at Kollam and Palakkad. The much neededcompletion of thedoubling work, electrification, introduction of automatic signalling system and other whole rangeof issueshave not figuredsignificantly.
Thereis also no mention of the proposed rail coach factory at Kanjikkode, or surveys for new lines and launch of work on the already announcedlines.
The Congress MPs from the state sought to undermine this. “The budget need not restate the on-going projects like rail coach factory at Kanjikkode or the Sabari line, as well as doubling and electrification works. The allocations for such works will come as routine,” said Union minister of state Kodikkunnil Sureshsaid.
“But the fact remains that the budget speech has not outlined the roadmap for the execution of these projects,” said A Sampath of the CPM. The state minister in charge of Railways, Aryadan Muhamed also said the budget wasdisappointing.
But a closelook atthewish list submitted by Kerala to the railway ministry on the projects to be included in the budget would be an eye-opener to the lack of homework on the part of the state. Many of requests made in the 64-page document submitted by the state in November 2013 are repetitions and some are already implemented.Hardly anyone with some expertise on rail development seems to have vettedthedocument.
“The state must adopt a focussed approach for railway development. Rather than spreading its attention on too many areas,thestate musttarget select areas,” said P Krishnakumar, generalsecretary of the Thrissur railway passengers’ association.
(T. Ramavarman Times of India dt 13-2-2014)
(Mathrubhumi dt 13-2-2014)
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