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Wednesday, Jul 07, 2004

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National

Trade unions welcome budget

By Our Staff Correspondent

NEW DELHI, JULY 6. The Central Trade Unions have welcomed the Union Railway Budget but expressed reservations on how the funds would be raised to implement the new schemes announced by the Railway Minister, Lalu Prasad.

Welcoming the proposal of the Railway Minister in the Railway Budget for 2004-05 not to increase the railway fare and freight rates, the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) said the new programmes announced would not be fulfilled unless drastic improvements in the performance of the railways was ensured by the Government.

"It is a people friendly budget though the Railway Minister had tough task to perform in the wake of increase in the oil and coal prices by 17 per cent,'' W.R. Varada Rajan said. But, according to him, there were some grey areas as far as the passenger safety was concerned since nothing concrete had been spelt out to ensure this. "Moreover, the Budget proposals do not say how they are going to implement the new schemes. The schemes will have either to be funded through the General Budget or by generating funds internally,'' he said.

In a statement issued here today, the CITU said the approach of improving the performance of the railways to meet the additional outlays and programmes in the railways is in conformity with the concept evolved in the common minimum programme (CMP) and the United Progressive Alliance.

Describing the Budget as good, the All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) general secretary, Gurudas Das Gupta, regretted that not much attention had been given to improve the suburban railway network which was being used by lakhs of people daily. "The Minister speaks of several new initiatives but does not say how the funds would be generated. If these are generated by improving the efficiency, it is good otherwise one will have to wait and see,'' he said.

Mr. Das Gupta appreciated the effort of the Railway Minister to take some steps for the porters, vendors, the backward classes and the toiling masses.

The Hind Mazdoor Sabha (HMS) said the implications of the Budget would be known after a couple of months. "The Government has announced several schemes but does not clarify how the funds would be raised,'' the HMS secretary, R.A. Mittal, said.

According to him, the Budget had been prepared keeping in mind the Assembly elections in Bihar next year where the setting up of a wheel and axle factory has also been announced. "While on one side there is great pressure on the Government from the World Bank to privatise the units, on the other hand it is planning to open new units,'' Mr. Mittal said.

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