Odisha Mishap: Railways rebuts CAG on partial use of safety funds
By Our Special Correspondent
New Delhi, June 5: Horrific Balasore rail accidents involving three trains has now sent the Ministry of Railways in firefighting severe dent to its image. While case has been registered in the Saturday train accident that left 275 passengers dead and over 1000 injured, spotlight is back on the Railways not according due importance to the safety norms.
The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India in its report tabled in Parliament last year had underlined lack of full utilization of Rs one lakh crore Rashtriya Rail Suraksha Kosh (RRSK) to be spent in five years after its constitution in 2017. The CAG in its report had stated that the Railways didn’t full meet its contribution of Rs 5000 annually, which resulted in a shortfall of Rs 15775 crores over the five years timespan.
The Ministry of Railways rebutted the claim of the CAG, stating that the report of the auditor was limited to the first three years since the rollout of RRSK – 2017-18, 2018-10, and 2019-20. The Ministry of Railways will be sending a detailed report to the CAG on the actual expenditure over the five years period soon, noted an explanatory note of the Railway Board.
“Total expenditure on track renewal, which is within the scope of RRSK, has been Rs 58,045 crores in the five years period,” said the note of the Ministry of Railways, which also stated that the total expenditure on safety works exceeded the planned Rs one lakh crore in the five years period.
The note of the Ministry of Railways stated that expenditure on track renewal has been Rs 8884 crores in 2017-18, Rs 13522 crores in 2020-21, and Rs 16558 crores in 2021-22. The Ministry also stated that the expenditure on safety related works, including track renewal, bridges, railway crossing, ROBs (road Over Bridges)/RUBs (Road Under Bridges), signaling works, etc., was Rs 178012 crores during 2015-15 and 2022-23. “Two and a half times more funds have been spent in the last nine years than what had been spent during 2004-14,” added the Railway note.
The Central government last year in February extended the validity of the RRSK, safety funds, for another five years. However, the CAG in its report had stated that the overall percentage of derailment in the total accidents in 2020-21 stood at 60 per cent, down from 74 per cent the previous year. Between 2017 and 2021, percentage of derailment in total rail accidents was 69 per cent, according to the CAG.
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