Mamata sets up committee to modernise railways

The committee has been given six months to submit its report, sources said.

The decision to set up the committee was taken late in the evening when Pitroda called on Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee.

Apart from suggesting a comprehensive modernisation plan for the railways, the committee has been asked to identify areas for resource mobilisation and to evolve ways for development of railway assets to generate funds.

Sources said setting up of the committee was also Mamata’s way of ensuring that she wouldn’t have to raise passenger fares.

“She will make the excuse that the committee will find other ways of generating resources. When both, the PM and his advisers have been talking about the imminent fare hike, Mamata could not take any chances with the West Bengal polls round the corner,” said an official.

The PM’s Economic Advisory Council had also recommended that the railways phase out subsidies for passengers at the cost of freight.

Setting up of this committee is also being seen as an attempt to undermine the controversial Rakesh Mohan committee report which had suggested corporatisation of the railways and bifurcation of the Ministry into two — for operations and policy making.

The new committee is likely to bring Mamata Banerjee in confrontation with Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee, who had publicly said that he was waiting for the report. Mohan is now the Chief Economic Advisor in the Planning Commission.

The report was to be submitted, first in December last, and then in January but its recommendations had generated controversy in the railways even before it was submitted.