Rail Budget is a good vision document, but where is the money?

(Sumant Chak is a former Additional Member of Railway Board. Below is his reaction to Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu's maiden Budget.)

What the Union Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu has presented in the Parliament is a vision document. It is a good vision document. The only good thing or good part is he claims that it will be consistent for the next five years. It is a good sign. It offers some stability to the functioning of the Indian Railways. I would like to say that it is a progressive budget.

The real problem with the Indian Railways is implementation. That is the big issue. If we can't implement what we promise, it makes no sense. The minister tried his best to make it look like a good budget. But, how exactly Suresh Prabhu will fund the projects? Where does the money come from? He has given no specific answer. If you have money, you can do everything. If you don't have money, you can do a little of everything. That is the problem. Doing a little of everything is a problem. It helps none and does not contribute to development.

Lot of things Suresh Prabhu mentioned in his budget is not new. Many of his predecessors have already mentioned that in their budgets. They have said that in different languages in the past. It is not something new. Most of these things have already been said several times in the past.

Unfortunately, most of them have not been implemented properly. Railways implementation and execution of projects is far better. Railways has done a lot of work. But, expectations are high.

What is the use of collaboration with ISRO? Can't we learn from other railways in rest of the world? Every safety system is known. What is ISRO going to add?

Re-inventing the wheel every time makes no sense. Let's use the best technology available in the world. Going here and there every time won't be of much use.

Railways can maintain the cleanliness if they follow 'Malls model". In tier-two cities, both the malls and railway stations get the same footfall. Look at the malls, they are very clean. But, the Railway stations are dirty. If we follow the same model the malls use, we can keep the Railway stations very clean. No point in creating a new department for the cleanliness. Can use outsource it to private companies.

Budget reflects the good side. It has not looked at the revenue side. We really don't know where the money is going to come from. Minister has presented a good document. Perhaps, has read out good parts in his budget.

Suresh Prabhu has given a good vision document. It is good. But, where is the money?