Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Tuesday, Feb 12, 2002
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Tuesday, Feb 12, 2002 |
|
|
|
|
|
Home Page
-
Railways Logistics - Railways Rly Board calls for modest fare hike Hema Ramakrishnan
NEW DELHI, Feb. 11 THE Railway Board has made out a case for a five to eight per cent increase in the passenger fares in the ensuing fiscal to reduce the cross subsidy between freight and passenger business, besides augmenting resources to finance the Annual Plan, according to a senior official. The Board's proposal was to be discussed at the crucial meeting convened by the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee, here on Monday to give the political clearance for a fare hike. The Finance Minister, Mr Yashwant Sinha, and the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission, Mr K.C. Pant, were also present at the meeting. Indications are that the BJP-led Government is set to opt for a modest hike in passenger tariff in the ensuing Rail Budget for 2002-03. The Railway Minister, Mr Nitish Kumar, during the pre-Budget discussions with Mr Sinha, indicated that his Ministry was not in favour of a steep hike at one go. The contentious issue of stepping up budgetary support to the Railways was also to be flagged off at Monday's meeting. The Railway Ministry has sought a Budget support of around Rs 5,500 crore. This, however, excludes the monies sought as a grant for the Special Railway Safety Fund and last mile projects. In view of the overall resource constraints, the Finance Ministry may end up allocating around Rs 5,000 crore as Budget support. The Railway Board's proposal entails an annual fare increase of around five to eight per cent over the next six to seven years to eliminate the cross subsidy which is estimated at around Rs 3,000 crore. The Rakesh Mohan Committee too had favoured an eight to 10 per cent increase in the second-class fares over the next five years and a one to two per cent increase in upper class fares. However, the hike in upper class fares too may be well over one to two per cent, as it would not be politically prudent decision to settle for this rate, said sources.
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail
|
Stories in this Section |
|
The Hindu Group: Home | About Us | Copyright | Archives | Contacts | Subscription Group Sites: The Hindu | Business Line | The Sportstar | Frontline | Home |
Copyright © 2002, The
Hindu Business Line. Republication or redissemination of the contents of
this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of
The Hindu Business Line
|