The Hindu Business Line : Lalu `receptive' to Kerala's demands

SOUTHERN SOJOURN: The Railway Minister, Mr Lalu Prasad Yadav, and his wife and Bihar Chief Minister, Ms Rabri Devi, with family members and the Minister of State for Railways, Mr R. Velu, at Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple in Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday. - S. Gopakumar

Thiruvananthapuram , Sept. 21

THE Railway Minister, Mr Lalu Prasad Yadav, has assured the State Government that funds would not be a constraint for taking up infrastructure development projects in the State.

The assurance was conveyed to the Chief Minister, Mr Oommen Chandy, who travelled to Parassala on the inter-State border to receive the Union Minister and his retinue riding in from Tamil Nadu by a special train as part of a six-day "unofficial tour of South India."

The Chief Minister used the travel time to Thiruvananthapuram for discussing the State's grievances before the VIP train arrived in the State Capital. He was accompanied by Mr K. P. Viswanathan, State Minister for Forests, the Chief Secretary, Mr Babu Jacob, and the Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister, Mr Dinesh Sharma.

On the whole, Mr Chandy said, the Union Minister was `very receptive' and `positive' to the list of demands submitted. For the record, he had expressed reservations on a few, including the one for a separate railway zone for the State.

Mr Lalu Yadav later told newspersons that separate zones were a bad precedent formalised by the erstwhile Government and this had egged on most Sates to stake claims. Hence, this demand was something he would have to tread on carefully before committing anything.

Acquisition of requisite land is a major stumbling block in implementing developmental projects in the State, according to the Union Minister. The State Government would have to work specifically to ensure that pending works such as railway over-bridges (ROBs) and doubling of tracks got off to a start and proceeded smoothly.

The Union Minister suggested that further discussions on the list of memorandum and other developmental issues be held in New Delhi. If needed , a team of high-level Railway officials would also be deputed to Thiruvananthapuram for holding discussions at this end. In any case, the Chief Minister would have to prepare the ground for these discussions, after consulting MPs representing the State and as well as major political parties.

Kochuveli terminal: Answering a specific question, the Union Minister said he was willing to give the all clear to the new satellite terminal at Kochuveli in the suburbs. However, protests by a motley group of 40 Food Corporation of India (FCI) labourers had all but scuttled the project.

This, according to Mr Lalu Yadav, would only further jeopardise the scheduled commencement of services of the new August Kranti Express announced for Kerala earlier in this year's Railway Budget. The Union Minister requested the Chief Minister to sort out the matter by holding discussions with all stakeholders, including MPs and major political parties.

Priorities:Indian Railways is now the third largest railway network in the world. Efforts are on to make it the first, according to Mr Lalu Yadav. The Planning Commission had allocated Rs 1,100 crore to the Railways only recently. Modernisation and safety would be top priorities for the railway establishment.

The Union Minister reiterated his stiff opposition to privatisation of the railways. He said he would rather resign than being a party to the move. The erstwhile Government at the Centre might have had different ideas on this front. He recalled the recommendations made by the Rakesh Mohan Committee in this context.

Indian Railways proposed to lease out commercial lands owned by it to private parties. Joint ventures would be formed for the purpose. The Railways was also open to the proposal sharing the funds needed for building ROBs.

The Railways also planned to set up call centres in Patna, Bangalore and New Delhi within the next three years, Mr Lalu Yadav said.