JOIN USParliamentarians on Tuesday pitched for putting an end to the seven-decade-old system that requires Indian railways to pay dividends to the government on capital-at-charge every year.
The government should rather allow the “fund-starved” Indian railways to utilise the amount of dividend on its rail infrastructure development projects and improvement of its services in terms of providing better facilities and public amenities to the passengers, they said.
This came during a discussion on the report of the Railway Convention Committee of 2014 moved for approval of the Lok Sabha by Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu.
Most Members of Parliament (MPs) belonging to different political parties, including the Shiv Sena, demanded scrapping of the system of divided payment to the Finance Ministry by railways, while participating in the debate. Communist Party of India-Marxist leader P Karunakaran and YSR Congress member Vara Prasadarao Velagapalli, however, supported the system dividend payment, but asked the government to take measures for generating income of the railways to improve its financial health.
The railways has to shell out about Rs 8,000 crore to the Centre as dividend this year as the convention committee rejected the Railway Ministry’s request for a waiver in December last year.
“We are discussing the rate of dividend to be paid by the Railways to Finance Ministry, while there is a need to find out ways to generate revenue as its income is constantly on the downward slope. It has suffered a loss of Rs 938 crore. Stop paying dividend. Use this money in providing better service and facilities to your passengers,” Shiv Sena member Arvind Savant told the Lok Sabha.
Asking the government to “think of innovative ways” to generate revenues, the Shiv Sena leader said vast stretches of Indian railways land were encroached upon across the country.