New Delhi: Railways lost about 40 per cent of
its business due to disturbance including Maoist violence and
agitations.
"We have lost about 40 per cent of our business due to
Maoist violence and agitations like bandhs. These have
affected railway operation to a great extent," Railway
Minister Mamata Banerjee said in the Rajya Sabha today.
She was winding up the debate on the Railway Budget
2010-11.
Indicating that railway is becoming a soft target for
violence, she said the situation was not the same earlier.
Railways gross earnings were over Rs 80,338 crores during
2008-09.
Faced with requirement of mammoth
resources for expansion, the railways will need to involve the
private sector, Mamata said,
but ruled out outright privatisation.
Sounding upbeat on the 'Vision 2020' unveiled for the
Railways, Banerjee said in the Rajya Sabha that the plan
hinges significantly on revenue generation through commercial
utilisation of surplus land.
"We are not going to privatise our Railways. This is our
commitment. I am proud of my 14 lakh employees," she said,
rejecting Opposition's charge in this regard.
However, for generation of money and creation of
infrastructure, surplus space has to be utilised for
commercial use, she said.
Banerjee said the Railways need huge resources for
clearing pending projects worth Rs one lakh crore. "Where will
the money come from? It will not drop from the heavens," she
said offending Congress member Praveen Rashtrapal, who staged a walkout in protest.
The minister said, in seven months she has presented two
budgets and unveiled a long-term vision for the organisation,
which is a must for delivering performance.
Without the long-term planning and execution, it would not
be possible to start new trains and decongest traffic.
The House returned the concerned Appropriation bills, as
passed by the Lok Sabha, enabling Railways to withdraw money
from the exchequer for a part of 2010-11 and some
authorisations for the current fiscal and 2008-09.
-PTI
First Published: Thursday, March 11, 2010, 22:18