The Centre is burdening people with rail fare and freight hikes which in turn will drive up prices of commodities and raw materials, said the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa.
Reacting to the Railway Budget today, she said in a statement, “The Railway Budget places an even greater burden on the already overburdened common people through an indirect passenger fare increase by way of levy of higher fees and an increase in the freight tariff which will cause an increase in prices of essential commodities.”
The Budget “totally lacks any long term perspective with regard to infrastructure development in the country,” she said. The Government has not spelt out specific measures to enhance economic growth.
“So far, no high speed freight corridor has been proposed in peninsular India including Tamil Nadu which is a crying need of the region. On the other hand, an increasing portion of the costs which are traditionally met by the Government of India and the Railway Ministry are sought to be pushed on to the State Governments such as project costs on new lines and passenger safety amenities like foot over bridges. This is totally unacceptable,” Jayalalithaa said.
There has been an indirect increase in passenger fares by increasing a number of supplementary charges.
The increase in freight charges will fuel inflation as it will increase the cost of commodities and raw materials including cement, coal and iron ore.
It will further increase the pressure on State electricity utilities which are already suffering.
The Railway Ministry is also trying to appropriate the allocation towards MGNREGA for its needs, which is very unfair and encroaches on the decision making powers of local bodies and State Governments.
Further, no additional services have been announced in the Chennai Suburban System, the Chief Minister said.