Opposition members accuse govt of trying to control Railway Board via new legislation

New Delhi, Mar 10 (PTI) Opposition members in the Rajya Sabha on Monday accused the government of trying to take control of the Railway Board through the Railways (Amendment) Bill, 2024, and alleged that it was avoiding scrutiny by a parliamentary panel.

Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw moved the Railways (Amendment) Bill, 2024, for consideration in the Upper House. The bill, which was passed by the Lok Sabha in December last year, seeks to enhance the functioning and independence of the Railway Board.

With the inclusion of the Railway Board under the 1989 Railway Act, the appointment, qualifications, tenure and criteria for the Chairman and members of the Board will be the responsibility of the central government.

The Bill also includes provisions to appoint an independent regulator that will oversee matters like fare determination and ensure the competitiveness of the Railways.

"You have just gone for 'governmentalisation' of the Railway Board," Congress member Vivek K Tankha said while initiating discussion on the bill.

Alleging that under the proposed legislation there is no liberty and sovereignty of the Railway Board, he said, "The very freedom of the Railway Board is lost and the functional autonomy of the Railway Board is lost. It is nowhere to be seen".

Demanding that the Railway Board must be given autonomy, Tankha said, "If you are thinking about the modernisation of the Railways, then India cannot have a modern railway system if the Railway Board is not autonomous. If you are not empowering your institutions, if you are not allowing freedom of decision making to your institutions, India is not going to become a developed country".

He also demanded accountability from the minister for accidents and stampedes at railway stations, including the recent one in the national capital.

Expressing similar sentiments, Sushmita Dev (TMC) said the proposed legislation is repealing the 1890 and 1905 Acts and "the provisions of 1905 Act have been inserted into the 1989 Railway Act", which is a "200 section Act and covers almost every subject and every issue in the Railways Ministry".

"Was it not the apt time for the Railway Minister to review that entire Act of (19)89, make amendments to it and then send that bill to an appropriate committee for scrutiny? Why is it that the government shy away from a standing committee, from a select committee?" Dev asked.

She further said, "There could only be one reason that these committees will actually compel the minister for a reality check, a reality that he is not comfortable with".

The TMC member said that in newspapers and TV channels, the word 'railway' is next to words like death, delay, congestion, stampede, extortion and accidents.

"...when the word railway becomes synonymous with these disastrous words I think this was the moment to scrutinise the Railway Minister," she said.

Taking part in the discussion, Manoj Jha, RJD, said overall members are expressing their concerns over the situation of the Railways more than speaking on the Bill.

"Where I come from, the names of the trains like Shramshakti, Shramjeevi, Jansadhaaran - reflect the situation there. We still don't have any Vande Bharat train," he said, asking if 100 per cent electrification was required for railways.

He also alleged that during the Mahakumbh, the regular coolies at the Prayagraj railway station were replaced by outsourced coolies.

Haris Beeran of IUML asked if there was any consultation with stakeholders and "if not, the Bill should be referred to a committee".

Similarly, Prakash Chik Baraik (TMC) also said the Bill should be sent to a select committee of Parliament while raising concerns over the increase in railway fares, highlighting 'premium tatkal' which "sometimes costs more than flight tickets, making it almost impossible for poor people to plan a sudden trip".

P Sandosh Kumar of CPI asked the minister to "focus more on Rail than Reels", and alleged that during the 10 years of the NDA regime, there were 678 railway accidents - which is 68 accidents per year and is increasing day by day.

At least 15 per cent of security-related posts are vacant, he said, adding steps should be taken to fill these posts while asking the minister to restore the discount for senior citizens in Railways.

Refuting the charges by the opposition members, BJP member Subhash Barala said the bill aims to make the functioning of railways more smooth and transparent, more accountable and all the railway zones and the divisional managers would be given more autonomy and financial powers.

Similarly, BJP's Geeta alias Chandraprabha and Sikandar Kumar said the Bill will strengthen the Railway board by giving it more power. It gives a legal sanction to the railway board by amending the Act. So far, the board has been functioning without constitutional sanction.

Subhashish Khuntia of the BJP said his state Odisha is being ignored by the Railways, and JMM's Sarfraz Ahmad expressed similar sentiments that Jharkhand hasn't been given its due despite the state contributing a lot of revenue to the country.

Former prime minister HD Devegowda JD (S) welcomed the Bill while lauding Vaishnaw's performance as the Railways Minister.

Taking part in the discussion, NCP's Prafful Patel highlighted the importance of Railways in the country's transportation system, saying it has the "same importance today as they did years ago".

Dharmshila Gupta (BJP) said the Bill would give the Railway Board more rights and strengthen the required legal framework to provide stability to railway employees.

Fauzia Khan (NCP-SCP) said if the aim of the Bill was to unify and streamline railway governance, a much more comprehensive legal framework and a much more reform-oriented approach were needed in an important Bill like this.

"A key constant demand has been ignored. The need for greater decentralisation in the railway administration," she observed, adding that the Sreedharan and Bibek Debroy committees formed in 2014 had both recommended this.

Ghanshyam Tiwari (BJP) said the Railways has done commendable work during the recently concluded Mahakumbh.

He said the electrification of China's railway network was lesser than India's and by 2030, electrification shall be completed on the entire network of Indian Railways.

Brij Lal (BJP) said the Narendra Modi-led government has taken various measures to improve the Railways, including boosting its network connectivity, safety, security and cleanliness, among others.

He said there was a notable decrease in terrorist incidents, particularly involving Railways after the current dispensation first came to power in 2014.

Pradeep Kumar Verma (BJP) termed the proposed legislation a "revolutionary step" towards the 'Modi Ki Guarantee' and a crucial step towards reforming the Indian Railways, which will help realise the vision of better rail connectivity for the middle class.

He said the Bill provides higher autonomy to the Railway Board and will enable the railways to undertake various reforms.

Verma informed that between 2014-24, on average, 24 rail accidents per year have taken place as compared to an average of 171 per year between 2004 and 2014. PTI KKS RKL AO PRS RSN RKL BAL BAL

Source: PTI