Just weeks before the Railway Budget, the case for rail passenger fare hike is being further strengthened.
The Railway Modernisation Committee headed by Mr Sam Pitroda has recommended levy of a modernisation surcharge and divestment in railway public sector units as some of the ways to mobilise funds.
But whether the Railway Ministry will implement these measures remains to be seen. The Railway Minister, Mr Dinesh Trivedi, and Committee Members avoided all queries on rail tariff hike as a method to garner funds and they appeared to be aware that all the recommendations cannot be implemented.
“I can appeal to the Prime Minister, Finance Minister, and Planning Commission for more funds. Suppose I get lower funds, the projects will slow down to that extent,” Mr Trivedi said.
Recently, a railway safety committee under Dr Anil Kakodkar had suggested safety surcharge of Rs 3 to Rs 50 on passengers to create a dedicated, non-lapsable fund.
FUND REQUIREMENT
The modernisation committee said that Railways have an investment requirement of Rs 8.39 lakh crore during the next five years. The funds will be spent on rail infrastructure such as tracks and bridges, signalling systems, stations and terminals, freight corridors.
FUND SOURCE
Out of this, the committee has provided source for Rs 8.23 lakh crore funds over five years. This includes a gross budgetary support of Rs 2.5 lakh crore, internal generation of Rs 2 lakh crore, Rs 2.29 lakh crore through public-private partnerships (PPP), and a dividend rebate of Rs 24,000 crore.
The projects to be undertaken on a PPP basis include stations and terminals, high speed rail lines, captive power generation, renewable energy projects.
For funding the gap of Rs 16,469 crore, the committee has suggested various options that include “modernisation surcharge from passengers on a per passenger km” basis. It also talks about “dedicated railway modernisation fund”, indicating that the surcharge will go towards creation of this fund.
CONSTRAINTS
“Timeline is when we get money,” Mr M.S. Verma, a committee member said, when asked about the time within which these projects can be implemented.