Date:04/07/2009 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2009/07/04/stories/2009070455961200.htm

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Mamata revises targets

Special Correspondent

Says Lalu’s projections were “unrealistically high” and “not sustainable”

Gross traffic receipts to be Rs. 5,000 crore less than the projected Rs. 93,000 crore
“Economic slowdown primary cause for the shortfalls”

NEW DELHI: Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee pulled up her predecessor Lalu Prasad for setting “unrealistically high targets” that were not “sustainable” and warranted a mid-course correction.

While freight loading fell short of target by 17 million tonnes, revenues from commercial utilisation of surplus railway lands also did not materialise, she said while presenting the Railway budget.

The primary cause for these shortfalls appears to have been the economic slowdown, Ms. Banerjee said.

“This has forced me to review the targets set for 2009-10 in the interim budget,” Ms. Banerjee said.

Setting more realistic targets, she said the net revenue of the Indian Railways has been revised to Rs. 8,121.48 crore from Mr. Prasad’s expectation of Rs. 10,876.48 crore. The investible surplus has also been reduced to Rs. 8,631.04 crore for 2009-10 as against Rs. 13,532.33 crore projected earlier.

However, Ms. Banerjee’s budget too was not free from expectations of buoyancy in earnings to cater to the welfare measures for railway employees and concessions to large sections including the extremely poor, students and the media.

She pegged the target for sundry earnings at Rs. 2,760 crore, a major component being the income from utilisation of land for commercial purposes – an area she felt Mr. Prasad had been unrealistic about.

Ms. Banerjee also pinned her hopes on attracting more bulk traffic besides expecting a whopping 40 per cent growth in the parcel segment – traditionally the Achilles’ heel of the Railways.

Statistics contained in the Explanatory Memorandum to the Railway budget appear to bear out Ms. Banerjee’s contention.

As against Mr. Prasad’s expectation of earning over Rs. 93,000 crore from gross traffic receipts, Ms. Banerjee felt earnings would be nearly Rs. 5,000 crore less during the current fiscal.

Because of this, the Railways would transfer Rs. 500 crore less to the pension fund but pay about Rs. 200 crore more than the Rs. 5,304 crore dividend proposed by Mr. Prasad.

As a result of the tardy performance, Ms. Banerjee reduced the appropriations to the depreciation reserve fund by nearly Rs. 1,700 crore, and to the capital fund by Rs. 5,000 crore.

On the other hand, she allocated Rs. 2,000 crore to the development fund which Mr. Prasad had completely left out.

The final effect is a deteriorated operating ratio of 92.5 per cent as against the expected 89.9 per cent.