All the Indian Railway staff and officers have supported the fare hike announced by the Railway Minister, Mr Dinesh Trivedi, in the Railway Budget.
In a letter to the Prime Minister on Thursday, all the five federations have demanded that in case of a fare hike roll-back, the Government should give a matching subsidy.
"We do not agree to any attempt to roll back the proposed fare hike as it will adversely impact not only the safety of rail travel but also the financial stability and sustainability of the Railways. A roll-back without matching subsidy from the general exchequer will push the Indian Railways to the brink of collapse," says the letter signed by five federations.
Indian Railways is the largest employer in the country with 1.362 million employees on its rolls.
The letter adds that "the increase is not only long overdue but also modest in its impact. The Rail Budget is also replete with agenda on safety and modernisation, whihc will offer safe , secure and smooth journey to the public of India."
The federations that have written to the Prime Minister are All India Railwaymen's Federation, National Federation of Indian Railwaymen, Federation of Railway officers' Associations, All India RPF Association.
Higher budgetary support
Earlier in the day, Mr Shiva Gopal Mishra, General Secretary, All India Railwaymen Federation (AIRF), told Business Line that the employees’ union may seek higher budgetary support for the railways from the Government — if it were to consider a rollback in passenger fare hike.
The fare hike is expected to raise an incremental Rs 4,000-5,000 crore for the railways next fiscal, which is already under financial pressure.
The AIRF is the largest union of railway workers with 1.2 million members. It had demanded a passenger fare hike in mid-2011, raising concerns over the financial condition of the railways. It had also sought a higher budgetary support from the Finance Minister earlier this year.
Mr Trivedi — who has announced an across-the-board hike in passenger fares — is under pressure from his own party, the Trinamool Congress, to resign.
The TMC chief, Ms Mamata Banerjee, had sought the removal of Mr Trivedi after he proposed an across-the-board rail fare hike in the Budget. Ms Bannerjee had asked the Prime Minister to replace Mr Dinesh Trivedi with Mr Mukul Roy, who is currently the Minister of State of Shipping.
Most railway experts have supported Mr Trivedi’s budget presented on Wednesday which has allowed for a 27 per cent increase in total revenues supported by passenger and freight fare hikes.
Moreover, the earnings generated by the revenues have been proposed to be ploughed back as investments in identified rail projects that would result in financial returns for the railways in the short run.