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Amid heated arguments between the government and opposition inside Parliament, Lok Sabha on Wednesday (December 13) passed the The Railways (Amendment) Bill, 2024.
The Bill seeks to repeal the Indian Railway Board Act, 1905 and incorporate its provisions into the Railways Act, 1989. And although the contents of the new legislation itself did not receive much criticism, many MPs expressed concerns about the Bill failing to address larger issues pertaining to the railways including safety, vacancies, and decentralisation of power at the zonal and division levels.
The construction of India’s railway network began as a branch of the Public Works Department before Independence. When the network expanded, Indian Railways Act, 1890, was enacted to enable proper functioning of different railway entities. Later, the railway organisation was separated from the Public Works Department and the Indian Railway Board Act, 1905 was then enacted to provide the Railway Board with certain powers or functions under the Indian Railways Act, 1890.
While the Act of 1890 was repealed in 1989 when the Railways Act was enacted, the Railway Board Act, 1905 remained in existence, and Chairman & members of the board continued to be appointed under this law.
The government said that the new Bill will simplify the law by integrating the Railway Board (1905 Act) into the Railway Act. They also said that this will reduce the need to refer to two laws. The Bill was introduced in Lok Sabha on August 9, 2024.
“With the passage of this Bill, the efficiency and development of railways will witness a paradigm shift,” Union Minister of Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw said while moving the motion for consideration of the Bill.
The Bill amends Section 2 of the Railways Act, 1989, and inserts a new chapter IA which pertains to the Railway Board. It makes provision to provide certain powers to the Railway Board “as prescribed by the Central Government”.
It says that the Centre may invest the Railway Board, either absolutely or subject to any conditions, with all or any of the powers or functions of the Central Government under this Act with respect to all or any Railways.
Along with this, the Chairman and members of the board appointed under the 1905 Act shall be deemed to have been appointed under this Act as well. The Railway Board is already in existence, and the Bill does not propose to create any new Board or body.
From the point of view of passengers, the new bill is expected to enhance the functioning of the Railway Board, which may result in the efficient development of the railway network.
However, some MPs have raised concerns that the new legislation will affect the independent working of the Railway Board, and the Centre is keeping all powers pertaining to the board with itself by bypassing the parliament.
Aparajita Sarangi, the BJP MP from Bhubaneswar, Odisha, said that that the new law is a significant step towards modernising, simplifying, and strengthening the Indian Railways. “The functions and independence of the Railway Board will be enhanced with this Bill,” she said.
Some Opposition MPs, however, felt that the Bill was introduced without adequate deliberation.
“Before the establishment of the Railway Board in 1905, Sir Thomas Robertson had convened a committee to gather opinions, after which the board was formed. It would have been more beneficial to form an all-party committee to discuss this matter and then introduce amendments,” Neeraj Maurya, the Samajwadi Party MP from Aonla, Uttar Pradesh, said. He added that “the Railway Board should be made an independent body with the authority to make decisions, and it should be freed from government control.”
AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi said that the Bill fails to incorporate any of the recommendations made by several expert committees over the years. “The Committee on Restructuring of Railways, constituted in the year 2015, had recommended setting up an independent regulator, but the current Bill fails to create an independent regulator,” he said.
Chandra Shekhar, Azad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram) MP from Nagina in UP, raised the question whether SCs, STs, OBCs and women are going to be accommodated in the Railway Board as members. “It is imperative that the appointments must be made on the basis of qualifications and expertise in the domain and not on the basis of political ideologies one is affiliated with. The Railways ought to be convenient, affordable and reliable,” he said.
Trinamool Congress MP Kalyan Banerjee said, “The question is regarding the merger of two Acts — whether the repealed Act will meet up challenges that Indian Railways faces in terms of operational delays, accidents and safety initiatives, bureaucratic inefficiencies, slow technical adoption and complexity of the PPA model and investments, and relaxation of powers to Zone.”
