Report derails Lalu146;s freight claims

Home Ministry admitted that field formations from where the vehicles had been withdrawn were put to inconvenience...

Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav8217;s flagship move of allowing freight trains to run with higher axle loads has drawn flak from the Comptroller and Auditor General CAG of India. In its latest report for the year ending March 2006, CAG has said that the move was pushed 8220;without complying with the conditions laid down for protecting track and rolling stock8221; and overloading continues even after permitting enhanced loading, which leads to 8220;increased incidence of rail fractures, weld fractures and defects in wagons and locomotives8221;.

CAG has stated that permitting increasing of loading by 6-8 tonnes for coal and iron ore would have an adverse impact on tracks, bridges and rolling stock 8220;unless the Railways takes urgent action to upgrade the track and monitors the parameters closely8221;. The report further says that mere levy of penalty would not be adequate as the 8220;damage to track and rolling stock could be extremely costly8221;.

In its reply to CAG, the Railway Board had said that Carrying Capacity CC 8220;enhancement was done on Indian Railways as a policy after a paradigm shift in the conceptual perception of design of track structures from deterministic to probabilistic8221;. The Board had further said that before allowing the enhanced loading they had carried out a review of the track modulus and the rail and bridge stresses. On overloading of wagons even beyond enhanced limits, the Board said that they had initiated installation of over 100 weighbridges to check the overloading.

Observing that the enhanced loading of wagons commenced without compliance of conditions laid down, the CAG said that the Board8217;s replies were unacceptable. 8220;Even one year after the commencement of the increased loading, the weighbridges at most of the locations are still to be provided and the checks are not in place as evident from the overloading beyond the enhanced limits. This has resulted in overshooting of the revised axle tolerance limits,8221; CAG has stated.

Railway Board had stated that it would install Wheel Impact Load Detectors WILD, conduct thorough physical examination of bridges, rehabilitate distressed bridges, and install bridge load monitoring systems, use Ultrasonic Flaw Detection testing at appropriate frequencies to detect rolling fatigue and also to assess the impact of enhanced loading on track and rolling stock and install in-motion weigh bridges to have a check on overloading over and above the permitted enhanced loading. However, CAG found that not even a single WILD had been installed till September 2006.

MEA: 8216;Missions impossible8217;

8226; Digvijay Singh and Vinod Khanna, the ministers of state, External Affairs, under the NDA government, together spent Rs 30.84 lakh as compared to the entitled Rs 8 lakh on furniture, furnishings and electrical appliances at their offices and residences between 2002-2004

8226; The Indian mission in Chicago ran up almost Rs 2.48 crore in avoidable expenditure during 1999-2004

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8226; Rs 2.67 crore irregular expenditure at missions in Bangkok, Beijing, Ho Chi Minh City, Kathmandu and Mahe in hiring residential accommodation for officers/staff during 2001-2005

8226; Rs 31.21 lakh unauthorised expenditure at Indian missions in Johannesburg and Pretoria towards paying rent for residential accommodation during 2002-6

8226; Rs 1.39 crore unauthorised expenditure during 2002-2006 at Indian Missions in Mahe, Riyadh and Colombo on repairs/renovation, maintenance of Government-owned buildings/residences of staff

8216;Overdrive on vehicles, personnel8217;

8226; BSF used more than the sanctioned number of vehicles. 10,928 vehicles sanctioned, including 100 at headquarters, but 11,086 used. Extra expenditure of Rs 1.76 crore on fuel, repair and maintenance of the extra vehicles in 2004-5 and 2005-6

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8226; Home Ministry admitted that field formations from where the vehicles had been withdrawn were put to inconvenience. CAG rejects its explanation that there was a ban on purchase of new vehicles

8226; ITBP attached a large number of officers withdrawn from field formations at its headquarters

8226; 19 officials needed for ITBP in June 2005, got 262 without Home Ministry8217;s approval

8226; These included 110 from general duty cadres who were supposed to be fighters at borders, 19 cooks, 45 drivers and 88 others

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8226; This meant an extra expenditure of Rs 5.19 crore for 2003-5