Date:05/12/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/12/05/stories/2008120556171300.htm

New Delhi

Free legal aid scheme to cover terror victims

Special Correspondent

Beneficiaries include riot victims; dependents of security personnel who die in action

Financial restructuring to bail out Konkan Railway
Imphal to be put on rail map

NEW DELHI: Senior citizens, victims of riots and terrorist and extremist violence, and dependents of personnel of defence, paramilitary and State police who died in action will be included in the free legal aid scheme. The Union Cabinet took this decision on Thursday.

Union Minister and Cabinet spokesperson Kapil Sibal said there would be no income ceiling for any of these categories, except senior citizens for whom a limit of Rs. 1,20,000 a year has been fixed for coverage.

A Bill would be introduced in Parliament to amend the Legal Services Authorities Act to give effect to the decision.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved a proposal of financial restructuring to bailout Konkan Railway Corporation Limited (KRCL), which has accumulated debt as the projected traffic did not materialise.

The Railway Ministry would provide ‘hand-holding’ to the company for three years. Further, it would continue as a Central public sector enterprise even after its debt liabilities are discharged. The meeting approved the financial restructuring with a caveat that KRCL would increase its earnings through enhanced freight charges so that it would not have to borrow or seek financial assistance from the Railways or the government.

During the construction phase, KRCL resorted to commercial borrowing at a high rate. Being a company, it was not given concessions such as exemption from dividend payment. Consequently, it accumulated debt liabilities which it could not discharge fully even though freight earnings increased from Rs. 87 crore in 2004-05 to Rs. 269 crore in 2007-08.

Chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the meeting also gave the green signal for including Imphal on the rail map, by extending the Jiribam-Tupul project up to the Manipur capital.

The project would have brought the rail line 27 km closer to Imphal, but the people wanted the link up to the capital. The additional work would involve construction of an 8.11-km tunnel.