India News | Railways Collects over Rs 50K Crore from Passenger Fare but Amenities Worrisome: BJD MP

New Delhi, Mar 16 (PTI) BJD MP Prasanna Acharya expressed concern on Wednesday on the poor condition of passenger amenities in short-distance trains, despite the collection from passengers amounting to over Rs 50,000 crore per annum.

During a discussion in the Rajya Sabha on the working of the Railway Ministry, Acharya also raised the issue of incomplete projects that have been lingering on for years.

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"What is the revenue that is collected from passenger fare? If I am correct, leave apart the Covid period, it must have been more than Rs 50,000 crore per annum, not less than that. What are the amenities provided to the passengers? There are certain long route trains, where good amenities are seen nowadays, but in other numerous trains, you will be astonished," he said.

The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leader cited the example of Tapaswani Express, which runs between Bhubaneswar and Rayagada.

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"I would urge upon him (Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw) to kindly travel once in that train and you will see the pathetic condition of the bogies. The bathrooms are nasty. The taps are broken. The seats are torn. A very unclean train. You earn money from passenger fare -- Rs 50,000 crore per annum -- and this is the state of affairs. I urge the railway minister to kindly give some time and take care of the passengers' amenities," he said.

Acharya said year after year, the railway budget is increased but at the end of every year, it is reduced and the railways has been unable to utilise even the reduced budget.

The Centre has allocated over Rs 2.45 lakh crore to the railways in 2022-23, comprising a gross budgetary support of Rs 1,37,300 crore, internal resources of Rs 5,000 crore and extra budgetary resources of Rs 1,01,500 crore.

Acharya pointed out that there are projects that are ongoing for 20 years.

He shared the observation of the Standing Committee on Railways that of the 58 super critical projects, 35 have been completed and the remaining 23 are still awaiting completion.

"This is an alarming situation. I think the railways should take priority on the ongoing projects and these projects should be completed," Acharya said.

He said many of the recommendations of the standing committee have gone unnoticed by the government.

"All the time, when a project is sanctioned, there is a political tuning in it. Whoever hails from any state, all the projects are dumped up in that state. India is one and there are underdeveloped states," Acharya said, adding that six districts of Odisha are yet to be connected to the railway network.

The Rajya Sabha proceedings were extended by a few minutes to allow Acharya conclude his speech. The House was then adjourned till Monday morning.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)