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It was a foregone conclusion that the railway minister Mamata Banerjee would keep fares unchanged in the current railway budget. Even if it was needed to get the railway’s finances back on track.
The railway minister is seeking to cultivate a people-friendly image, the outcome of which is a zero-fare hike policy. With elections due in her home state of West Bengal, despite the railway’s flagging financials, there was no way she would want to hike fares.
The railway minister has made up her mind to lean on the centre in the next few years to support her growth plans. In 2009-10, the budgetary support has been increased by Rs 5,000 crore over the interim budget figure. But its reliance on the government for funds is expected to increase, putting pressure on the government’s already strained resource position.
Today, the Railway Budget 2009-10 was presented by the railway minister Mamata Banerjee. It was her maiden budget and she left no stone unturned to announce populist schemes, the hallmark of every rail minister. When the times were mostly good, as in the previous government’s tenure, it didn’t pinch but in a slowing economy, it is undoing the strong position the railways made for itself in the past five years.