The Hindu : Nitish promises user-friendly Budget

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Feb 16, 2003

National

National

Nitish promises user-friendly Budget

By Our Special Correspondent

BANGALORE FEB. 15. The Railway Minister, Nitish Kumar, today said that the coming Railway Budget (2003-04), to be presented in Parliament on February 24, would be user friendly.

Addressing presspersons at the Rail Wheel Factory here, Mr. Kumar said last year the Railways had generated revenue on the expected lines. However, people should be ready to pay more for additional facilities.

To offset fluctuations in diesel price and reduce consumption, the Railways had decided to use bio-diesel in the future.

The Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) would manufacture the bio-diesel and the Railways had given 500 acres to the oil major for the cultivation of non-edible oil plants such as Jatropha.

The fuel had been experimented on trains, Mr. Kumar said.

Ruling out any regional bias in the allocation of funds, he said the Railways had been allocating funds and implementing projects on the basis of three criteria — population, area, and for completion of ongoing projects. Seventy per cent of the funds had been distributed to complete ongoing projects.

Fifteen per cent of the funds had been given to population and the rest to area-based projects. Karnataka had been given Rs. 156 crores in 2001-2002 and Rs. 253 crores in 2002-03.

Noting that the Railways had achieved self-sufficiency in all aspects, he said the Rail Wheel Factory had gone in for a tie-up with Griffle, a Chicago-based firm, and it would help the factory to explore foreign markets for its wheels.

Mr. Nitish Kumar renamed the Wheel and Axle Plant as Rail Wheel Factory.

He also inaugurated a machine installed to augment the plant's capacity at a cost of Rs. 2.85 crores and an upgraded Management Information Services system at the factory.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

National