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irse
Forum Admin
India
553 Posts |
 Posted - 05/24/2009 : 09:22:58
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Bureau
http://www.blonnet.com/2009/05/24/stories/2009052451070300.htm
New Delhi, May 23 Honest, usually decisive, impatient, maverick, accessible. But not available in Delhi most of the time because she favoured her home-state West Bengal. This is how several Railway Ministry officials who had worked with Ms Mamata Banerjee during her 18-month stint as Railway Minister in between 1999 and 2001 describe her.
She was transparent in her dealings. So many times she was not scared of taking decisions, said all of them.
At times, when she realised that decisions were not being taken and files were going back and forth between Departments, she formed a taskforce and insisted that a decision be taken soon. This is what she did to start some public private partnership projects like Pipavav Rail, said an official.
But there was a problem: a short attention span. If there was some complex Parliament question and we took time explaining to her the replies, she would ask her Minister of State to deal with it, said another official.
She favoured West Bengal in her decisions, so much so that she is learnt to have insisted on increasing the wagon and locomotive procurement to help the production units in the State. But then, isnt this is something most of the Ministers (including Lalu Prasad did), asked an official.
She was accessible, warm and open to new ideas. But usually not available in the Ministry, said many officials.
She stayed in her MPs flat during her stint instead of moving into a larger bungalow, used a Fiat car to come to the Ministry, gave a hard time to Railway officials in Lucknow insisting that she would not take an official vehicle.
A story in the Ministry goes that a peon was at loss when she took out Rs 5 from her purse and asked him to get a tea for a visiting MP, said an official.
Populist Budgets
She presented two populist Budgets in 2000 and 2001, and did not increase passenger fares in either of the Budget.
But now, she is coming at a difficult time, when the Railways will have high costs (Sixth Pay Commission impact) at one end and a slowdown in revenue growth (due to general economic slowdown) on the other.
Nevertheless, West Bengal is heading for Assembly elections in 2011. And she appears to have set the tone today by saying her priority in the Ministry would be to provide economic freedom to the marginalised sections of the society to travel by rail and take up modernisation with a human face. She said her Ministry would contemplate providing monthly travel passes for unorganised labour, vendors, domestic workers and landless labourers besides students at a nominal cost and the technicalities would be worked out later.
For the Railways, she may be a better Minister than Mr Lalu Prasad, said an official who has worked with both of them and also with Mr Nitish Kumar.
Journalist Mr Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, who describes her as maverick said, Once while interviewing her, I asked her a difficult question and she started accusing me of being the Lefts agent.
irse
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S.ravi
Advanced Member
India
4205 Posts |
Posted - 05/26/2009 : 10:17:52
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Mamata Banerjee takes over as New Railway Minister
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18:55 IST
Kumari Mamata Banerjee took over as the new Railway Minister when she assumed the charge of her office at Eastern Railway Headquarters in Kolkata today. Chairman, Railway Board, Shri S.S.Khurana, Secretary, Railway Board Shri K.B.L. Mittal, General Managers of Eastern Railway, South Eastern Railway and Kolkata Metro, Senior officials of Railway Board and Zonal Railways were among those present on the occasion.
Kumari Mamata Banerjee, President of All India Trinamool Congress, was recently re-elected to 15th Lok Sabha on her 7th term from Kolkata (Dakshin) constituency in West Bengal. Born on 5th January, 1955 in Kolkata, Kumar Banerjee has obtained degrees of M.A., B.Ed and LL.B. as well as Trained in Work Education. She earlier also held the Railway portfolio as Union Cabinet Minister during 13th October 1999 to 16th march 2001. During her long parliamentary career, she was member of various important parliamentary committees and held several government social and political posts.
Kumari Banerjee was the General Secretary of Mahila Congress (I), West Bengal, from 1976 to 1980. In 1984, she was elected to the 8th Lok Sabha for the first time in 1985 she became a member of the committee on the Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. She became General Secretary, Indian National Congress (I) in the year 1986. In 1990 she was the President of Youth Congress, West Bengal. In 1991, she was re-elected to 10th Lok Sabha and became Union Minister of State for Human Resource Development (Department of Youth Affairs and Sports; and Women and Child Development). In 1996, she was re-elected to 11th Lok Sabha and was the Member, Committee on Home Affairs and Member, Consultative Committee, Ministry of Home Affairs.
In 1997, Kumari Mamata Banerjee founded All India Trinamool Congress and was elected its Chairperson. In 1998, she was re-elected to 12th Lok Sabha and was Chairman Committee on Railways. In 1999, she was re-elected to the 13th Lok Sabha and became Union Cabinet Railway Minister and later served as the Union Cabinet Minister of Coal and Mines. She was re-elected to 14th Lok Sabha in 2004.
Kumari Mamata is connected with different social and human rights organizations to promote the welfare of poor, children and women; providing free legal aid to the poor and; organizing various health camps for mothers and children.
She has authored a number of books on various themes in Bengali and English which include, Upalabdhi, Ashani Shanket Janatar Darbare, Maa, Pallabi, Manavik, Motherland, Crocodile Island, Trinamool, Sishu Sathi, Anubhuti, Struggle for Existence. Abishasya, Janmaini, Ekantee, Struggle for Existence, Abhisaso, Andolaner Kolkata, Ek Guchcha Bhavna, Smile, Jago Bangla, Anasan Keno, Langer, Gantantra Lazza, Salaughter of Democracy, Ajob Chora and Ma-Matee-Manush. Her love for music, songs, painting and art is also well known.
She has widely travelled to various countries and represented India in UN General Assembly; as a woman parliamentarian at World Women Round Table Conference held at Russia and Woman Youth Conference at Vietnam. She also attended the Working Women Conference of ILO and ICFTU at Kuala Lumpur.
(Photograph is available on PIB website www.pib.nic.in)
AKS/HK/LK/TR
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S.ravi
Advanced Member
India
4205 Posts |
Posted - 05/26/2009 : 19:37:39
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Mamata announces several projects from day one
http://news.webindia123.com/news/ar_showdetails.asp?id=905260455&at=&n_date=200
90526
Kolkata | Tuesday, May 26 2009
Announcing a slew of projects the day she assumed charge, Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee today promised to complete the section of the east-west freight corridor between Ludhiana and Howrah in a record time to charge up the economic activities across Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Bihar and Bengal.
''I have directed the officials to complete the freight corridor between Howrah and Ludhiana as early as possible. It will be completed in a record time. The project would enhance the economic activities in Delhi, UP, Punjab, Bihar and
Bengal, the states falling within the corridor,'' she said after taking charge of her ministry at the Eastern Railways headquarters here.
Ms Banerjee, who had earlier promised to benefit the poor railway commuters, also announced that special passes of Rs 20 a month would be issued by the
Railways for the people having a monthly income up to Rs 500. ''This monthly pass is mainly for the people in the unorganised sector and will be valid for
travelling up to 100 km.'' The minister said the detailed technicalities for the scheme would be worked out by her department shortly. She also said all the pending railway projects in Jammu and Kashmir will be taken for speedy completion while a special incentive would be announced for the state depending upon the allocation of the next union budget to be placed tentatively in July.
The Railway would embark on a project for modernisation of station and upgradation of the facilities for the employees, she added.
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S.ravi
Advanced Member
India
4205 Posts |
Posted - 05/27/2009 : 10:23:35
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Challenges galore for Mamata in Rail Bhavan
;Dipankar Chakraborty
NEW DELHI, 26 MAY: On Monday evening when an associate of the railway minister, Miss Mamata Banerjee, said, albeit in a lighter vein, that madam was likely to assume office after the storm was over (she was busy mobilising the railway ministry and local authorities to deal with a cyclonic storm in West Bengal), it left no one in doubt about the Trinamul Congress chiefs priority.
Having bagged the prized portfolio of railways, the firebrand leader from West Bengal is faced with the tasks of managing the gargantuan ministry of railways and her political priority of taking on the Left ahead of the 2011 assembly elections in West Bengal. She had earlier served as railway ministry under the previous NDA government, till on 15 March 2001 she quit the government along with her nine MPs after Tehelkas reported expose on defence deals. Soon after her swearing in as the railway minister in the UPA government, Miss Banerjee indicated her pro-poor initiatives. There are challenges galore for the new minister a senior official of the railway ministry told The Statesman. In the corridors of Rail Bhavan, it is being asked whether Miss Banerjee can maintain the momentum of growth and development set in motion by her predecessor Mr Lalu Prasad? Can she afford to not affect any hike in the passenger fares like her predecessor? and more significantly Is she ready to make Indian Railways a world-class rail system, a commitment made by Mr Prasad in the last UPA government.
Experts in the field, however, pointing to Miss Banerjees previous stint in the railway ministry said her tenure was anything but promising. It was marked by unimaginative clearance of projects like the Rs 120 crore circular rail link from Dum Dum cantonment to the Kolkata airport. The project, according to ministry sources, not only incurred huge costs but is the least preferred route now. To cap it all, the Airport Authority of India (AAI) has proposed demolition of the elevated track, as it now wants the airport to be connected with the East-West metro corridor instead.
Miss Banerjee is expected to focus on fast clearance of Central funds for the pending third line from Panskura to Kharagpur, doubling of Haldia-Panskura line and fourth line from Tikiapara to Santragachi among other projects in West Bengal.
At the central level, the new railway minister will have to contend with the challenge of expeditious execution of national projects across the country. Modernisation and upgrading of security system on railways, delay in the rail project in Jammu and Kashmir, implementation of Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) project and turning Indian railways into a world class railway. |
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irse
Forum Admin
India
553 Posts |
Posted - 05/27/2009 : 23:38:14
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Mamata Banerjee had already rolled out her bedding, and settled comfortably into her berth while many of her colleagues were still anxiously perusing the wait-list, or pushing their way into the cabinet. The DMK had briefly tried to dislodge her from her favored seat, but everyone, from corporate honchos to Marxist paunchos, knows that once Didi digs in her chappals, there is no question of flip-flops.
Mamata has the perennially crumpled look of someone who has spent the last 48 hours in three-tier non-AC compartment, but that is not the only reason why she should have been made railway minister. She is the perfect fit for a post which has usually been occupied by those who rant, rail, and happily derail. George Fernandes did the last-mentioned quite literally. Remember how, as railway union leader in the 1970s, he had lain down on the tracks during the locomen's strike?
In this election, Lalu may been as unceremoniously smashed as the kullads he introduced on trains, but throughout his five-year journey, his antics remained the surefire object of amusement. Mamata is no slouch in this department, despite the fact that her humorless image is the exact opposite of her predecessor's crafted buffoonery.
An unvarnished earthiness is just right for a ministry which symbolizes the great unwashed engine of the Indian nation. Madhavrao Scindia may have driven it ably enough from 1984 to 1989, but it was easier to associate him with his later portfolio of civil aviation. In much the same way, it's impossible to picture the suave Praful Patel's sharply cut ensemble getting sloshed with railway dal. Indeed, the only train he'd take is the Rajdhani.
Babu Jagjivan Ram came close to Lalu in terms of native shrewdness, but the earthiest of them all was Lal Bahadur Shastri. In 1956, he resigned as rail mantri, taking moral responsibility for the accident in Ariyalur which left 144 dead. Shastri had the bad habit of doing such things; he even immediately vacated his ministerial quarters despite not having a home of his own. Such absurd gestures were promptly dropped from the ministerial code.
Shastri won himself a lot of fans when he introduced these into the hellish third class compartment. Indeed, with one stroke of social engineering, he abolished the earlier First Class, which was swaddled in princely luxuries quite inimical to the ideals of a socialist India, and converted the prevailing Second Class into First. He also banished the 'Inter' which had interrupted the decline of the passenger from Second to Third.
Shastri was the organic man of the masses, not some politically sprouted 'son of the soil'. So it would be boorish to compare him with later leaders who presumed that garibi can be hataoed just by pressing a Delete slogan. Nor should Shastri's 'class action' invite parallels with Gandhiji's third-class travel, an operation with so much official baggage that it prompted Sarojini Naidu's famous remark on how much it cost to keep the Mahatma in poverty.
Abul Barkat Ataul Ghani Khan Chowdhury, all one man, was as much of a 'character'. He was dubbed the Malda Express during his tenure (1982-84) for doing what is the divine right of his ilk: promptly hitching their constituency to the literal gravy train. While even Mamata can't turn Jadavpur into a central railway terminus, she has already announced fast-tracking the Howrah-Ludhiana freight corridor project. To be fair, she has also prioritized J& K connectivity.
And she did rush a special train to Jammu-Tavi to relieve passengers so surreally stranded there on account of the Sikh sectarian clash in, of all places, Vienna, which had then inflamed Punjab and paralyzed its railways. Even the histrionically inclined Mamata may not have wanted such a fiery ( plus cyclone-whipped) return to the ministry, but you cannot deny that it was an appropriate re-entry for our currently reigning drama queen.
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irse
Forum Admin
India
553 Posts |
Posted - 05/28/2009 : 01:14:13
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tp://www.thehindu businessline. com/2009/ 05/28/stories/ 2009052850250800 .htm
The Railway Minister, Ms Mamata Banerjee, believes that every paisa counts.
R.C. Acharya
Breaking away from the Congress, forming her own Trinamool Congress, becoming a part of the Vajpayee-led government in 1999 as the Minister for Railways, and now coming back with the same portfolio, this time with the UPA, Ms Mamata Banerjee has indeed come a full circle!
To her surprise, she may find that things have not changed much in Rail Bhavan, except for the new Board Members! True, there are now 17 railway zones, against the nine she had to deal with; the freight target is at 875 million tonnes, almost double what she had reached; and hundreds of new Jan Shatabdis, Sampark Krantis, Garib Raths and other super-fast trains are crowding the already limited track capacity, drastically slowing down the freight trains.
She may also find the same massive backlog of hundreds of projects in the pipeline, which would take a couple of decades to complete at the current level of funding; Mr Lalu Prasad did his bit by adding seven new production units, of which no less than five are to come up in Bihar, costing nearly Rs 10,000 crore.
Financing the DFC (Dedicated Freight Corridor), a monster of a project costing over Rs 50,000 crore, which promises to provide a quantum jump to the Railways freight carrying capability, will be a major challenge. However, if her track record is any indication, she hopes to achieve this without much effort
A balancing act
With an eye on early Assembly polls in West Bengal, she may have announced a Rs 20 season ticket for the economically weaker sections of society such as vendors, hawkers, labourers, most of whom travel by suburban services in Kolkata, yet she knows when to draw the line.
What took years of fiscal discipline coupled with a pragmatic approach to investment decisions committing scarce resources to building up a mammoth organisation, was in just seven years turned into a basket case by the combined efforts of the Jaffer Sharief and Ram Vilas Paswan duo!
From just 35 new line projects, requiring Rs 1,080 crore to be completed in 1989-90, the list had grown to 81 in 2000-01. Within a few weeks of taking over the reins at Rail Bhavan, Ms Mamata Banerjee realised that being the Minister in charge of the 1.7-million strong behemoth was not going to be a bed of roses.
In her budget speech of February 2001, by choosing to announce that she did not propose any new lines, gauge conversion or electrification projects, she made it clear that she had no intention of adding to the financial woes of the Railways which already had a backlog of Rs 35,000-crore worth projects awaiting completion.
Further, in spite of support from the general exchequer stagnating at Rs 3,540 crore she did not hesitate to allocate funds, Rs 11,090 crore to be exact, a good 11 per cent over the last year, to expedite the ongoing projects.
Opening up rail sector
In her previous avatar, Ms Mamata systematically clamped down on all forms of wasteful expenditure, by which she hoped to achieve her target of saving Rs 750 crore in 2000-01. For Ms Mamata believes that every paisa counts, even if the annual budget happens to be in the region of Rs 50,000 crore.
Perhaps, one of her most significant contributions during her short tenure was opening up rail transport to private players. Ms Mamata helped create the first-ever joint venture between the Railways and the private sector PRCL (Pipavav Railway Corporation Ltd).
With this, Gujarat Pipavav Port Ltd, part of the Sea King group, came into being, which aggressively pushed for a piece of the export-import pie, converting the 275-km metre gauge line connecting Pipavav near Bhavnagar with Surendarnagar of Western Railway in the Saurashtra region.
Subsequently, PRCL was able to run double-stack container trains on the non-electrified route of Jaipur-Surendarnaga r-Pipavav, giving it substantial scales of economy and productivity, launching an era of phenomenal growth for Pipavav, Bhuj and other ports of Gujarat.
(The author is former Member Mechanical, Railway Board.)
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S.ravi
Advanced Member
India
4205 Posts |
Posted - 05/30/2009 : 21:49:23
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Mamata Banerjee can bring Railways back on track
By Arabinda Ghose
Large portion of the turnaround was actually hype by Lalu Prasads aides.
It is apparent why Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had named only six ministries after the swearing on May 22 which were allotted portfolios. The Ministry of Railways to be presided over by Mamata Banerjee is one such which is an extremely important infrastructural ministry which did not receive proper ministerial care in the recent past.
Most people are unaware that Lalu Prasad Yadav had totally failed to even commence work on even one of the two dedicated freight corridorsone from Ludhiana to Jawaharlal Nehru Portthe western corridorand the Ludhiana to Sone Nagar corridor (to be extended towards Kolkata later), the eastern corridor.
Yes, for the sake of record, he did got some work started on the eastern corridor on a small stretch of line between Karwandiya and Ganjkhwaja stations between Dehri-on-Sone and Mughalsarai section. But the problem is this work was inaugurated by Sonia Gandhi from Sone Nagar, which is across the river Sone, through remote control. The second trouble is that both these stations are existing ones on the Dehri-on-Sone to Mughalsarai section of the North Central Railway, which has an existing third line between Dehri-on-Sone and Mughalsarai, which carries mainly coal from the north Karanpura coalfields to consumers in western and northern India. Unless Smt Gandhi had inaugurated work on the fourth line on this alignment, Laluji might have pulled a fast one on the Chairperson of UPA, whose knowledge of those obscure areas cannot be expected to be perfect.
In any case, as part of the eleventh five-year plan, Indian Railways were expected to have undertaken work on 11,500 kilometres of dedicated freight corridor(DFC) costing Rs. 100,000 crore; upgradation of feeder routes of DFC Rs. 25,000 crore; Doubling of port connectivity works Rs. 25,000 crore. Not a single rupee of these Rs. 1,50,000 crore have been spent so far with the 11th plan due to come in March 2012.
Some money might have been spent on the other projects like gauge conversion Rs. 20,000 crore, signaling and telecom works, Rs. 15,000 crore; asset renewal Rs. 80,000 crore; passenger and freight terminals Rs. 25,000 crore, augmentation of manufacturing capacity for rolling stock Rs. 5000 crore and miscellaneous worksRs. 55,000 crore. The total comes to Rs 2 lakh crore. It is for Mamata Banerjee to take stock of the situation.
The Railways have achieved the target of setting up a dedicated freight corridor construction corporation. But that is about all.
If the current eleventh and the following 12th-five-year plans are to be implemented, tremendous efforts will be necessary for providing funds for such huge plan sizes. Mamata would have to pay undivided attention to this aspect of Indian Railways.
Incidentally, it is not true that Mamata Banerjees first stint as a Railway Minister was a failure. Available official statistics say a different story. According to the statement showing important financial figures in respect of Indian Railways for the period 1950-51 to 2005-06, the financial results during her tenure 2000-2001 show that the Excess (Indian Railways to not use the words profit or loss) was Rs. 763.59 crore. It is true that she had not raised fares and freight rateswhich was expected of her because of the poor state of economy of the railways then. She had not paid a single paisa as dividend (interest on loans forwarded by the Ministry of Finance), yet her performance was not a condemnable one. Almost all Railway Ministers since the day of Prof Madhu Dandwate used to skip payment of dividend. It was only Shri CK Jaffer Sharief who had cleared all previous arrears in 1993.
Nevertheless, Mamata is a much more mature politician andone hopesadministrator who is expected to make a success of her stint as the Railway Minister for the second time.
It has been more or less forgotten that in view of the deterioration in the railway finance position, Mamata Banerjee had set up a Task Force for generating additional resources through non-traditional methods.
Although the suggestions made by the Task Force are no longer valid, because the economics of the Indian Railways have been looking up substantially because of the improvement in the economy at large and increasing efficient use of assets by railway men and women later, some of the suggestions made hold good even today. Own your own wagons, build own, lease and transfer system, private involvement in construction of railway infrastructure as the Pipavav port scheme, are some of the projects which were thought of by that Task Force.
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S.ravi
Advanced Member
India
4205 Posts |
Posted - 06/04/2009 : 10:43:25
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The Union Minister of Railways, Kumari Mamata Banerjee said that Indian Railways determined efforts will be to keep enhancing passenger amenities and comforts to a higher level, both in trains and on railway stations. In her message to the Railways family after assuming the charge of office of the Union Railway Minister, Kumari Mamata Banerjee urged all the railwaymen to provide service with smile.
The Minister said that Railways are committed to protect and nurture the commercial interest, but it has to be done with human face. Appreciating the hard work and dedication of railwaymen, Kumari Banerjee said that while performing the duties in the length and breadth of the country, railwaymen always be alert to maintain the highest level of safety and security of Indian Railways as safety never sleeps. It is Railways bounden duty not to compromise on safety standards and to ensure security of the travelling millions of fellow countrymen, she added.
Kumari Mamata Banerjee further pointed out that a large number of initiatives are being taken by the Railways for strengthening and modernizing network and infrastructure. She called upon all the railwaymen to work together to enhance all out improvement in the functioning of the Railways through innovative means. In her message, the Minister appealed all members of railway family to strive together to bring the Indian Railways to a greater height.
AKS/HK/LK/TR |
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S.ravi
Advanced Member
India
4205 Posts |
Posted - 06/04/2009 : 11:20:05
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Mamata's roadmap for rail reforms: better food, clean linen
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/Mamata-s-roadmap-for-rail-reforms--better-food-clean-linen/471031
Thursday , Jun 04, 2009 at 0347 hrs IST
New Delhi:
Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee wants the drinking water dispensing system at Sealdah railway station to be studied and replicated at major junction stations across the country. She also wants constant monitoring of the quality of food being served onboard trains. These are some of the several points that figure in
the wishlist of the new Railways Minister that Rail Bhavan has recently communicated to all Zonal Railways.
The ministerâs top priorities, ranging from providing passenger amenities at stations to ensuring proper arrangement of drinking water to having proper announcements, particularly for trains running late, have been communicated to all 16 zonal railways by Railway Board chairman S S Khurana. Banerjee had listed out these priorities in her first meeting with Khurana last week.
Banerjee is learnt to have told the Railways top brass that they needed to bring out âperceptible improvementsâ in the quality of linen given in trains, mincing no words in stating that the quality of linen had âdeterioratedâ.
Mamataâs focus seems to be on food, and she has asked the ministry to monitor the quality of food served at the stations and in the trains. The minister has also stressed the need for joint checks and inspections with IRCTC officers to bring about improvements in quality.
Taking the cue, Rail Bhavan, too, has lost no time and decided to make the Commercial Department of the Zonal Railways âresponsible and accountableâ for all the âmobile catering servicesâ within their jurisdictions. In instructions issued recently, the Tourism and Catering wing of the Railways ministry has made the zonal, regional and local managers of the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) âanswerable to the Zonal Railway
administrationâ. IRCTC, which primarily handles onboard catering, has also been asked to âtake instructions from and give compliance toâ the Zonal Railways administration.
Thu Jun 4, 2009 8:55 am
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S.ravi
Advanced Member
India
4205 Posts |
Posted - 06/07/2009 : 09:18:47
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http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=Passenger+amenities+are+Mamatas+top+priority&artid=%7ClUk8AN8umU=&SectionID=b7ziAYMenjw=&MainSectionID=b7ziAYMenjw=&SectionName=pWehHe7IsSU=&SEO=Mamata%20Banerjee,%20Indian%20Railways,%20Railway%20Budget
07 Jun 2009 12:46:41 PM IST
NEW DELHI: Winds of change have already started blowing at Rail Bhavan here just
10 days after Mamata Banerjee took charge of the railways portfolio. Passenger
amenities are her first priority, as opposed to generating revenue surplus that
was the mantra of her predecessor Lalu Prasad.
Even as security guards at her ministry are getting used to the cabinet-rank
minister driving in almost unnoticed in a small Maruti Zen, rather than a white
Ambassador car with a beacon that is so much part of a minister's life, senior
officers are wary of any move that could clash with Banerjee's own frugal
lifestyle.
"Her priorities are very clear," said Ratan Mukherjee, special officer to the
minister, who not only owns the Maruti Zen in which Banerjee travels in the
national capital but also drives it himself.
"Her focus is on improving passenger amenities at every level. Potable water and
clean toilets inside trains and stations are some of the issues she has taken
up. She also wants passengers to feel satisfied and safe," Mukherjee told IANS.
In fact, all these and more are reflected in the letter that has been circulated
to all the 1.4-million employees of Indian Railways who run the world's second
largest railroad network under a single management.
"I will urge all of you to provide service with a smile," said her letter where
she made it clear that none of the 14 million passengers who travel on 7,000
trains daily should go home disappointed.
"Railways are committed to protect and nurture the commercial interest, but it
has to be done with a human face," her letter said.
Even at the top level, Banerjee - who has preferred to stay in a small apartment
rather than the ministerial bungalow she is entitled to - has conveyed in no
uncertain terms that the focus should be on the average citizen and that she
will also not fail to praise deserving officials.
According to her aides, in one of her first observations after taking charge,
she told Railway Board Chairman S.S. Khurana that she had found the potable
water dispensing system at the Sealdah station in Kolkata efficient and good and
wanted it replicated all over the country.
"Quality of food, cleanliness, punctuality - the minister wants proper attention
to be paid to all these issues that are often taken for granted," said a close
aide, adding top officials are now raising these issues at appropriate levels.
"She (Banerjee) has stressed that the quality of linen given in trains has
deteriorated and there is an immediate need to bring about some perceptible
improvements," said one such follow-up letter from Khurana to a senior
colleague.
Among the minister's first decisions are reinstating the full menu on Rajdhani
trains, with an added offer of regional cuisine. So a passenger to Kolkata will
have the choice of fish and rice, while another to Chennai can savour idlis or
upma.
Banerjee, who insists on paying for her afternoon cuppa and snack in her office,
has also met the top brass of the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corp
(IRCTC) and has told them that the quality of food served in trains must
improve, while also calling for surprise checks and joint inspections to bring
about necessary improvements.
With a cushion of the Rs.900 billion surplus that Lalu Prasad has left behind
after his five-year tenure as railway minister, Banerjee has promised cheap
passes for students and the elderly, double-decker air-conditioned coaches and
higher wages to staff as recommended by an official panel.
Now, as she prepares to present the regular railway budget next month, Banerjee
has also called for the views of every member of the vast Indian Railway family
- a move that has gone down well with the staff.
"I would welcome suggestions on how to improve our own performance in different
spheres of activities of the railways. I believe that every suggestion is
important and useful."
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S.ravi
Advanced Member
India
4205 Posts |
Posted - 07/19/2009 : 18:52:04
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Mamata flags off first ladies' spl EMU
http://news.webindia123.com/news/ar_showdetails.asp?id=907190349&cat=&n_date=20090719
Howrah | Sunday, Jul 19 2009 IST
Flagging off the country's first ladies' special train, Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee today said the 'ball has started rolling' for implementation of her all budgetary proposals and it would reap a 'golden harvest' making the railway a tool for the nation's development.
Announcing deadline for implementation of several of the projects -- all in the next month-- she said three of the 12 'Duranto' trains would start running and the faster parcel service would commence some time in August.
Work for Panskura-Kharagpur third line in West Bengal was also slated to begin on August 9, while the extended service of metro from Garia station would start on August 23.
''A massive programme for work will continue. The ball has started rolling. It will reap a golden harvest and change people's life,'' she said.
''The first three 'Duranto' trains will start running non stop between Delhi-Pune, Mumbai-Howrah and Howrah-Delhi with a speed two hours faster than Rajdhani Express. But the passengers will have to pay a fair lower than Rajdhani. Everything in regard to running the train is almost ready. Only the coaches are yet to be painted,'' she said.
The first parcel service, the Railway Minister said, would start between Tughalakabad-Howrah, Tughalakabad-Chennai and Tughalakabad-Mumbai.
Ms Banerjee was accompanied by Union Minister of State for Urban Development Saugata Roy, Union Minister of State for Rural Development Sisir Adhikari and Union Minister of State for Tourism Sultan Ahmed, besides the General Managers of both Eastern and South-Eastern Railways while making the announcements at the Howrah station.
The ladies' special passenger train between Howrah and Bandel stations would start running twice a day from tomorrow in the peak office hours to cater to the needs of office going women and girl students. Ms Banerjee promised that a similar train would be introduced in the Sealdah-Kalyani section of the Eastern Railway once adequate rakes were arranged.
Sun Jul 19, 2009 2:35 pm
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irse
Forum Admin
India
553 Posts |
Posted - 07/21/2009 : 01:32:44
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http://www.tribunei ndia.com/ 2009/20090710/ nation.htm# 1
Didiâs booster
Advocates greater utilisation of vacant land of the Railways.
Monitoring committees would also be set up to keep tabs on train punctuality, amenities and cleanliness.
Announces setting up an expert panel, headed by FICCI secretary-general Amit Mitra, to prepare a business plan for toning up the Railways.
Two more non-stop trains â Delhi-Secunderabad and Delhi-Nagpur â would be introduced in addition to 12 such trains already announced.
Includes several more stations in the list of those to be developed as âadarshâ (model) and world-class ones.
Favours 50 per cent quota for locals in induction in Railways through the Railway Recruitment Board and availability of the question paper in regional language.
New Delhi, July 9
Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee today announced a number of measures to tone up the functioning of the Railways in terms of amenities and safety and also announced the setting up of an expert committee to prepare a blueprint for future of the public sector behemoth.
Ruling out the corporatisation of the railway network, she however, said there was a scope for private sectorâs participation in commercial use of railway land for areas like healthcare and education institutions.
Replying to a marathon discussion on the Railway Budget here, she favoured 50 per cent quota for locals in induction in Railways through the Railway Recruitment Board and availability of the question paper in regional language. She also promised to review the process of intake in the railways.
She also advocated greater utilisation of vacant land of the Railways pointing out that these were either lying idle or being encroached upon.
The Railways has almost 300,000 acres of vacant land in its possession. âWe cannot sell the land. But what is the problem in commercial utilisation?â she queried and said institutions such as medical and nursing colleges, hospitals and other institutes of higher education.
She said her ministry would look at providing infrastructure and land for setting up Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs).
âWe might even look at building IITs in the future,â she said while adding, âLand is our main asset. We can build medical colleges and other institutions on our land. Both railway employees and the general public will benefit from thisâ.
Banerjee announced setting up an expert panel, headed by FICCI secretary-general Amit Mitra, to prepare a business plan for toning up the Railways. It will have representatives of Chambers of Commerce besides Member (Traffic) and Member (Engineering) of the Railway Board.
She said monitoring committees, headed by senior officials like members of Railway Board, would also be set up to keep tabs on train punctuality, amenities and cleanliness.
The minister said a blue print was being drawn to totally revamp the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corp but added there was no need to outsource food and beverage operations offered inside trains and stations.
Ruling out the corporatisation of the Railways she said, âIâm always in favour of our employees. Iâll be the last person to do itâ.
âTourism can be looked at,â Banerjee said on the issue of allowing outside agencies to supplement the efforts of Indian Railways. âBut there is no need to outsource food. We will departmentalise it,â she said.
She said two more non-stop âDurantoâ (fast) trains - Delhi-Secunderabad and Delhi-Nagpur - would be introduced in addition to 12 such trains already announced.
Two of the 14 such trains would start within a month, she said but did not identify them.
She also included several more stations in the list of those to be developed as âadarshâ (model) and world class ones, responding to demands by members from all parties, who accused her of only focusing on West Bengal while neglecting rest of the country.
Banerjee said the White Paper promised by her would be unveiled as soon as possible.
She clarified that the exercise was not to target âany individualâ but only to reflect upon the past and present state of affairs of the Railways and chalking out the roadmap for future.
Her assertion was of importance as he move had upset her predecessor Lalu Prasad, who while going out of the ministry had claimed that he was leaving the organisation with a Rs. 94,000 crore surplus over five years while was in-charge.
Banerjee said her step was nothing unusual as such an exercise was carried out earlier also.
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S.ravi
Advanced Member
India
4205 Posts |
Posted - 07/25/2009 : 21:53:43
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[size=3]Railway Minister constitutes expert committee
New Delhi (PTI): Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday constituted an expert committee under the chairmanship of FICCI Secretary General Amit Mitra for developing innovative funding techniques for the Railways through PPP mode and a vision document 2020.
The 16-member committee has been asked to start offering recommendations within fifteen days of its first meeting, said an official release.
She had announced the formation of this committee in her Budget speech earlier this month.
The expert committee has been specifically asked to consider developing business models of the DelhiMumbai industrial corridor and utilising railway land bank along the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor for starting projects in rolling stock production.
Besides, it has been asked to advice on private-public participation in setting up the new coach factory at Kanchrappara Halisahar Railway complex and setting up of a 1000 MW power plant at Adra in collaboration with the NTPC, the release said.
Comprising members from the Railway Board, industry, and retired bureaucrats among others, it will also review the status of progress of ongoing activities undertaken by the Railways.
Further, it will give views on assembly facilities and coach rehabilitation at Dankuni-Majerhat-Nowpara section and consider the best way for developing world class stations and multi functional complexes, the release added. [/size=6] |
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irse
Forum Admin
India
553 Posts |
Posted - 07/27/2009 : 01:12:42
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Altogether 1,000 new computerised reservation centres, including 200 in West Bengal, have been established in various railway stations throughout the country, Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee said today.
''Gradually all the railway reservation centres in the country will be computerised. The Railways are taking up various developmental schemes for the convenience of the passengers as well as to augment the income of the Railways,'' the minister told
''A new Singur-Howrah Andolan Express will start running from August 1. A ladies special train will also start running between Sealdah-Kalyani from August 5 (Rakshabandhan day). The number of circular railway networks will be increased from two to four,'' she added.
Rajendra Saxena |
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S.ravi
Advanced Member
India
4205 Posts |
Posted - 07/28/2009 : 19:16:44
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Jobs for martyrs' family members: Mamata http://news.webindia123.com/news/ar_showdetails.asp?id=907270622&cat=&n_date=20090727
Nanoor | Monday, Jul 27 2009 IST
Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee today said her ministry would provide
employment to the family members of those killed in the Nanoor incident nine years back.
Addressing the party supporters on the occasion of 'Martyrs' Day' here, Ms
Banerjee, who is also the Trinamool Congress supremo, condoled the killings of 10 Trinamool Congress supporters allegedly by CPI(M) activists in Suchpur village under Nanoor police station in Birbhum district on July 27, 2000.
She alleged that the combined forces, in the 'name of flushing out Maoists' from the Naxalite belt in West Bengal, were actually displacing Trinamool Congress supporters.
She informed that leader of the opposition in the State Assembly Partha
Chattopadhaya, Union Minister of State for Rural Development Sishir Adhikary and Minister for State for Shipping Mukul Roy would visit Mahespur on August 2 to take stock of the situation prevailing there.
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S.ravi
Advanced Member
India
4205 Posts |
Posted - 07/29/2009 : 12:52:49
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Railway Minister addresses General Managers Conference
MINISTER CALLS UPON GMs TO TAKE ALL POSSIBLE MEASURES TO IMPROVE CUSTOMER SATISFACTION
MONITORING COMMITTEES TO BE SET UP FOR PROJECTS
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17:10 IST
The Minister of Railways Kumari Mamata Banerjee has called upon General Managers of Zonal Railways to take all possible measures to further improve all aspects of Railway operations specifically catering, cleanliness, punctuality, safety and security on the Railways as well as take care of social and economic obligations. Addressing a two-day conference of the General Managers of all Zonal Railways and Production Units here today, the Railway Minister said that all Zonal Railways should be more active in ensuring the safety and security of the passengers as the Railways operate round the clock and visible to all. The Minister said that there is a need of continuous monitoring mechanism to improve the punctuality performance in all Zonal Railways.
Kumari Mamata Banerjee further said that quite often there are complaints of delay in completion of on-going railway projects. She said that projects should be completed in a time bound manner and accordingly tenders etc., should be finalized and floated in time. She said that the budget allocation should be properly spent on the projects and the fund should not remain unspent. She further said that there is a need to make concerned officers accountable and responsible for the delay of projects. She also advised to constitute a monitoring committee at each zone consisting of all core concerned departments to ensure effective implementation of the projects.
She also called upon GMs to commercially utilize railways vacant land to mobilize the resource especially through Private Public Partnership model in areas like developing world class stations. She said that Rail Land Development Authority (RLDA) needs to be more effective to ensure proper utilization of vacant railway land and land bank should be improved.
Talking out the beautification of railway stations/premises, the Railway Minister said that local touch like local art, paintings and traditional symbols and designs should also be given due place in addition to national level things to make the station premises more attractive with regional/traditional look.
Kumari Mamata Banerjee further said that railway employees are the assets of the Indian Railways and are the backbone of this vast organization. They need to be attended to properly and their welfare should be a priority. It is in this context that Railways will be providing its vacant land for setting up of medical colleges and schools for the benefit of the children of railway employees along with general public. She said that vigilance departments of Railways should play more active and effective role in order to ensure more transparency and an efficient corruption free system in the Railways. She also emphasized the need to further improve functioning of Railway Recruitment Boards (RRBs).
The Minister of State for Railways, Shri K.H.Muniyappa in his address pointed out that world is facing a global economic slowdown which is affecting not only industry but transportation sector as well. Though there some visible signs of economic recovery Railways need to really work hard to achieve the targets set for the current year and also the 11th plan targets which are very steep, he added. He also said that though the number of consequential train accidents have reduced considerably in the first three months of current years, it is necessary that accidents on account of factors within railway control be curbed at all costs. He emphasized the need to provide adequate security and safety to the passengers and to evolve public awareness campaign at a large scale in this regard. He said that Railways are committed to provide protection to passengers at both stations and on trains. Women RPF (Railway Protection Force) squads need to be deployed for security of women passengers particularly in sections where a large number of women travel alone regularly, Shri Muniyappa said.
While addressing the GMs conference, the Minister of State for Railways Shri Shri E.Ahamed said that Railway Budget 2009-10 has addressed many expectations of the people with more concern for the traveling public in general and the down trodden in particular. However, he said that there are areas of concern like time and cost overruns in project implementation, cleanliness of railway premises and present trend of thefts on trains. He said that vital projects need to be monitored and reviewed and every delay explained and addressed right from tendering stage to project completion. Whereas cleanliness of railway premises is concerned, there is a need to evolve a system of tendering whereby only competent, committed and sincere agencies are selected. He called upon the GMs to organize more decoy checks and take all necessary steps to identify anti-social elements frequenting trains and stations.
Chairman, Railways Board, Shri S.S.Khurana also addressed the conference. Also present on the occasion were the Members Railway Board and other senior officials of the Ministry of Railways. Safety performance, punctuality performance, freight loading, production and quality of output improvement of catering, cleanliness etc, are some of the major issues being discussed during the two-day conference.
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New Railway minister -Mamta banerjee
