‘Social,not just economic viability should be yardstick’

“These projects that are instrumental in upgradation of the deprived and under-privileged (and those who have remained victims of backwardness and poverty),may not meet the so-called economic viability criterion but create real economic assets which will be far more beneficial for future development,” Banerjee said as she unveiled the “human face” she’s been talking off ever since she took over the ministry.

From not raising passenger fares or freight to putting doctors on select trains,from launching a Rs 25-monthly season ticket “Izzat Scheme” allowing people earning below Rs 1,500 a month to travel upto 100 km to “Only Ladies” EMU trains for suburban office rush hour and Yuva Trains for youth and low-income groups,Banerjee today attempted to please a wide range of people.

Arguing that people should have a right to development in a democracy the same way they have a right to vote,she said: “Several lakhs of people are awaiting development. The time has now come for them to receive their share in fruits of development. I think the time has come when our economists and social philosophers will have to consider,that the upliftment of the poor and down-trodden,is the primary task of any welfare government and society and the old mindset of economic viability should be substituted by social viability.”

Borrowing from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s emphasis on “inclusive growth”,Banerjee said that the “Railways must set an example to promote “inclusiveness” in their functioning keeping the needs of all sections of “our fellow countrymen in our thoughts,decisions and deeds”. She even announced the setting up of an Expert Committee to advise her on “innovative financing and implementation of the so called economically unviable but socially desired projects”. She added that her ministry will identify places that have not seen any infrastructure development she will prepare a blueprint of how many such schemes can be implemented in the coming five years.

But before she embarks on this plan,Banerjee would do well to examine a list of over 250 railway projects that have been pending for years,mostly because of being economically unviable. Many of these projects,announced for social or political considerations,have been languishing in Railway files for decades. Rail Bhavan officials admit that the fact that most of these projects have a negative rate of return is the primary factor behind them not taking off. Railway norms prescribe a positive rate of return of 14 percent before a project is started.

Her plan,however,may be hamstrung by the fact that her ministry is struggling to sustain revenues since the past few months,has been forced to curtail freight targets for the current fiscal,and is staring at much lower cash surpluses and net revenues for the fiscal,largely because of the Rs 14,600 crore it has to shell out to implement the Sixth Pay Commission and the overall economic slowdown.

For the record,the Railways fell short of its freight loading target in the last fiscal by 17 million tonnes forcing Banerjee to scale down this fiscal’s target from 910 million tonnes to 880 million tonnes.

Trying to cash in on the Railways’ formidable property bank,Banerjee said land along the new freight corridor would be put to productive use and also said the Railway operator would resume issuance of tax-free bonds.

She also said the Railways would build a 1,000 MW electricity plant to power electric locomotives and look at introducing double-decker trains and take advantage of the fibre-optic communications network.