All eyes are set on signals from the Trinamool Congress (TMC) Chief, Ms Mamata Bannerjee, as pressure builds up on the Indian Railways to hike fares.
Many agencies including the Prime Ministers' Office (PMO), Finance Ministry, Planning Commission, Comptroller and Auditor General, Railway Minister, most of the Railway Ministry officials and even the Railways Union, have underscored the need to revise passenger fares upwards.
The Railway Minister, Mr Dinesh Trivedi, recently admitted that case is building up on Railways to increase passenger fares. He, however, added as a rider, “the poor needs to be spared”.
This could be an indication that the air-conditioned segment passengers are more likely to be hit by fare hikes than the second class segment.
In a related move, on reports that a committee on modernisation of Railways under Mr Sam Pitroda has called for a 25 per cent hike in fares, Mr Pitroda on Monday vehemently denied having made any such recommendations.
After eight consecutive years of no significant fares hike , many Railway Ministry officials agree that the time has come to increase passenger fares.
The Railways has already devised a mechanism separating the extent to which fuel impacts the passenger fare. Railways are under pressure to link fares hike to cost of inputs.
“There is a need to review the passenger fare structure to ensure that the pricing does not result in a below-the-cost return. Inflation indexing may be factored in to make the cost realistic,” CAG stated in a report on Railways Finances in 2011.
mamuni@thehindu.co.in