No Privatisation of Indian Railways:The Minister of Railways

   The  Minister of Railways, Mamata Banerjee has reiterated that there will be no  privatization of Indian Railways. She gave this assurance to the nation  while addressing the Consultative Committee of Members of Parliament for the  Ministry of Railways, here today. Speaking on the subject of the today’s  meeting namely, “Public Private Partnership (PPP) in Railways”, she said  that PPP route will be utilized to create more infrastructure, more assets  and more employment.

               
   She said that there are  many socially desirable railway projects which are not being implemented
because of the shortage of funds. She said that PPP is an instrument of  mobilization of increased revenue from new business opportunities for  investment in infrastructure. She said that there is a need to adopt new  vision and new thinking for the development of Indian Railways and these  have been outlined in the ‘Indian Railways Vision 2020’ document released by  her. She said that commercial utilization of railway land, not required for  immediate railway operations, can be and is being adopted to set up  manufacturing facilities for locos, coaches, and components as also for
hospitals, medical colleges and training institutions.

    The Railway Minister  further said that Railway Employees Unions are regularly involved and
consulted in major decision making process. She emphatically said that care  is taken to ensure that interests of railway employees and railway users are  not only fully protected but also substantially advanced through these new  initiatives. Mamata Banerjee pointed out that a single window cell is
working in the Ministry of Railways under Secretary Railway Board to  receive, process and monitor PPP proposals.
               
   On the directions of  the Railway Minister, Chairman, Railway Board, Shri Vivek Sahai, in the  beginning, outlined the PPP strategy of Indian Railways. Shri Sahai informed  that the PPP proposals received by the Railways are being processed and  dialogues with the private players are being initiated.

    The members of the Committee also gave suggestions and presented their view points at the
meeting on the PPP initiatives taken by the Minister of Railways for the  overall development of Railways. Some of the members suggested to further  focus on basic passenger amenities.