Of the 12 occasions on which the Union Cabinet has met since the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) returned to power,Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee has attended just five. In choosing to absent herself from the latest meeting of the countrys highest executive decision making body on September 10,Banerjee not only worsened her attendance record further,but also ensured that her ministrys proposal seeking a Rs 17,700 crore Japanese loan to fund Indian Railways flagship projectthe Western Dedicated Freight Corridor,could not be taken up. The last Cabinet meeting Banerjee attended was on August 27. In fact,after the July 23 Cabinet meeting where Banerjee was said to have almost walked out opposing the Land Acquisition Bill,she skipped three consecutive Cabinet meetingson August 6,13 and 20. But for the fact that the Cabinet did not meet thriceon July 9,16 and 30,Banerjees attendance record would have been much poorer. While her spending more time in Kolkata than in Delhi is one of the main reasons behind her poor attendance in the Cabinet,there has been at least one instance,on August 6,when she did not attend the Cabinet meeting despite being in Delhi. Off the record,her close aides in Rail Bhavan have been trying to defend Didis absence arguing that it was due to the fact that no railways related matter was slated for the Cabinets approval. But on September 10 Banerjee failed to turn up for the Cabinet meeting despite the Japanese loan for DFC listed on the agenda. As earlier reported by The Indian Express,Banerjee had spent 20 of the first 31 days in office in Bengal. The trend has continued ever since. Having spent the better part of August in Kolkata,she returned to Delhi on August 23 only to fly back on August 27. This time,however,she returned to the Capital the very next day,on August 28. However,her stay in Delhi lasted only four days this time as she again flew back to Kolkata on September 2. Last heard,she was supposed to return to Delhi on September 13. As Didi continues to spend more and more time in her home state,important files have been piling up in her Rail Bhavan office. Many key decisions,sources said,have been pending simply because the minister has remained unavailable for discussion and consultation. Four Zonal Railways (Southern,South Central,East Central and North Western),two locomotive work factories (Chittaranjan Locomotive Works and Diesel Locomotive Works) and the Railway Staff College in Baroda have been without a head for a while because of the delay by the Railways Ministry in clearing the panel of General Manager-level officials that can be appointed to head them. Sources said that after much delay,primarily due to the ministers absence,the panel was formed recently and sent to the Appointments Committee of Cabinet for approval. Several other key decisions,for instance,the final call on the alignment to be followed to construct the Kashmir rail line or a decision on the fate of two locomotive manufacturing units in Bihar,have also been hanging fire for weeks now. Mamatas predecessor,Lalu Prasad Yadav,too,may not have had an enviable record of attending office but he,as many officials in the Railways ministry still recall,made it a point to attend Cabinet meetings.
