Various Kolkata-based chambers of commerce on Friday expressed concern over the financial strain on railways which, if not addressed, may impact the prospect of implementation of investment proposals of the Railway Budget 2011–12.

The chambers dubbed the budget as a fine balancing act between inclusive growth and a ‘pro people' focus of the Railways.

Mr Jayanta Roy, President, ICC, pointed out that the Railways is going through a phase of financial strain due to several factors and this remains a matter of concern. He suggested that streamlining measures would be necessary and there must be a clear revenue augmentation vision.

“The ICC welcomes the Railways aim to exceed Rs 1 lakh crore earnings in the current year, with plan to raise Rs 10,000 crore via bonds. It feels revenue generating plans and programmes must be implemented and monitored properly,” he said.

Although the Bharat Chamber of Commerce welcomed the Railway Budget proposals, it raised the issue providing passenger amenities without increasing the fare and freight charges.

Mr Pavan Poddar, President, Bharat Chamber of Commerce, said: “Fare and freight rates have not been altered despite the increase in cost of operation. It is not clear how passenger amenities will be addressed.”

Mr Sunil Dasgupta, President, Bengal National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BNCCI), said that he was sceptical as to whether all the necessary resources could be garnered for funding proposed projects despite an increase in the proposed outlays.

The Bengal Chamber on its part commended the initiatives taken by the Railway in upgrading technology and safety measures while welcoming the Railways initiatives to set up factories in “far flung areas” such as Jammu and Kashmir and the North-East.

The Merchants' Chamber of Commerce too welcomed the ‘human face' of the budget and the welfare-oriented measures taken up by the Railways.

Mr Harsh S. Bhartia, President, CII, said that the budget was a balancing act between growth imperatives and inclusivity while pointing out that the PPP proposals had opened “huge opportunities for the participation of the private sector”.

IT reaction

Lack of availability of human resources might affect the proposed centre of excellence in software in the Darjeeling hills in Northern West Bengal. Software companies are also apprehensive about the timeline of implementing the proposed centre of excellence in software in Darjeeling.

The Union Railway Minister, Ms Mamata Banerjee, today said that project was proposed to be taken up by the Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS), the IT arm of the Railways.

Resource Availability

According to Mr Bikram Dasgupta, Chairman and CEO of Globsyn Group, CRIS is into system engineering and not application-based software. However, the region does not have enough skilled manpower in this area as most software companies in Kolkata into application software designing. “There may be some resource issues initially. But I believe that CRIS will carry out the necessary planning that it needs to before setting up their centre here,” he added.

Development of the Region

Mr Sarthak Chandra, Managing Director of IT consultant firm SARV Solutions, feels that the political unrest in Darjeeling may also affect the project.

Upbeat about the development prospects of the region, Mr. B Hari, Chairman, Ontrack Systems, pointed out that the West Bengal Government has already set up an IT park in Siliguri at the foothills of Darjeeling. Accordingly, the CRIS centre may throw open immense opportunities for development of the region. “Political unrest is not a major issue. But I believe that the project will face initial hurdles in implementation. This has to be sorted out,” he cautioned.

NASSCOM was unavailable for comment.

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