Union rail ministry has said that it will withdraw West Bengal’s eight unviable sub-urban routes unless the state shares 50% of the losses. Some of the routes are always busy, like the Ballygunge- Budge Budge line.
Of the various public utilities, the central government owns many like Air India, Indian Railways, ports, coal, minerals, fuel etc. Appointment of key personnel is entirely managed by the Central government and all are subject to central audits. Many have periodically made profits but such profits have never been specifically shared by the Central with the states.
It could be a grossly misplaced policy, if the profits are never shared from the profitable routes and losses need to be shared from the under-performing projects. The West Bengal CM, Mamata Banerjee has rightly denounced the move, stating that not all public utilities can ever run in profits, as evidenced all over the world. I guess she is right. Officials claim that lack of revenue from freight could be a reason for the losses.
Commuting every day from their homes in local trains to their workplaces exposes the over centralization of cities, and poor rural infrastructure. The regular travelers hold monthly travel passes, heavily subsidized by the railways. The passengers resist even a few paisa increase in the fares. Many hawkers use these threatened routes to carry their wares in compartments specially allotted for the purpose. Steeped in corruption many getaway bribing the ticket checkers at the gates, who seldom dare to challenge the ticketless passengers for the fear of being lynched.
The need to run services in profit, or at least achieve a breakeven is todays mantra, whether it is government or private. People comply paying higher ticket charges in buses and taxis or for power consumed, but disregard proposals for any increase in train fares. While the withdrawal of the lines could put many citizens in great difficulty, the threat just cannot be implemented. An attempt to increase the charges for monthly passes in the most crowded Mumbai locals, met with violent backlashes forcing the railways to hurriedly backtrack and rollback increases. If the same formula applies, most local trains all over the country will cease to ply.
The Central government, collecting the bulk of the taxes cannot shrug away its responsibility and must act more maturely. If the railways are losing, it is also because of a pathetic overload of inefficient workforce, which needs to be pruned. Due compliance of the passengers in paying for tickets, steady withdrawal of subsidies in the monthly passes and payment for freight costs could lift the loss making eight railway routes and elsewhere too.
Sampath Kumar
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