New Ministry of Rail Infrastructure can help progress PPP in railways

PPP projects Indian Railways>

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Those who do not know can be taught if willing to learn. Those who know but unwilling to do, you cannot teach them.

Our case is the later. Extreme intelligence, perhaps best in the country, and full awareness represent our railway engineers. Our finance officers too lead and head other BOT organisations successfully in the country. Our Traffic officers successfully played in the market to leverage market forces to get what their organisations which they were heading to get what they want. Our mechanical engineers too played the game of export markets. It is not a matter of knowledge.

It is a matter of system. A predominantly operations & maintenance organisation designed to maintain status quo to keep the wheels running day in and day out, where even the Cabinet Minister is under tension, of getting a mid night phone call and truly scared of it, ( as confided to me by a Railway Minister, who told me it is so easy to manage other ministries but in railway he has to bear lot of tension), the mental frame work day to day even at Railway Board level has become attuned to responding to delays, accidents, failures discipline, vigilance etc and their daily life depends on O & M.

All the rest of activities are secondary, like new lines etc.

I have a simple solution. Like Highways Ministry, create a Rail Infrastructure Ministry, but not under Railway Board but acting under Railway Act. It is a mere cabinet decision to separate Railways in to two ministries, each having Cabinet status. The RI ( Rail Infrastructure) Ministry will have nothing to do with presenting Railway Budget. or with the Railway Board. But they will have all the powers granted under the Railway Act for the purpose of constructing new lines.

Their budget will form part of general budget. Their mandate is to create annually 10,000 km of new rail routes, for which they will have to leverage the whatever budget provisions are made, but bring in private participation and complete the line as per the railway standards get commissioned under the existing CRS organisation's certificate , complete the setting up of the maintenance organisation and also get the requisite number of officers too from the same UPSC, and once ready ceremonially hand over to the Ministry of Railways to have their midnight woes.

Not hat Railways did not try this. Rail Vikas PSU was thought to provide such vehicle. But being under Railway Board, their purpose becomes a tiny fraction of the worries of the Railway Board. They end up doing some small PPP with ports.

But if a Ministry is created and depends for its existence on executing new railway lines , with coordination at cabinet level only, then the same railway officers in the new ministry, who have to make their own rules for delivery of the projects, and answer the parliament directly, will truly deliver many a PPP project. The existing Railway Ministry shall not get any budget allocation for new lines.All existing projects of new lines without exception shall be transferred to the new Ministry.

Only traffic facilities, works requiring blocks, doubling will remain with Railway Ministry.

Then just as Minister of Highways every day morning comes to office fresh after a good sleep, the Minster of Rail Infrastructure too will be fresh and first thing he asks will be why I am not getting daily 100 km of railway line, and the organisation then will find ways and means to achieve the goals.

Railway Act does not prohibit two Ministries working under the Act. Just as Criminal Proc code and acts are operated by many states, two Ministries can work under the powers granted by the Act.

The Union cabinet can take this decision, which is executive in nature. Any minor modification to the Railway Board Act needed can be handled.

Then you will find all major PPP groups will be huddling with the lean and mean Ministry of Rail Infrastructure even if you open the office in a tent near Jantar Mantar. Necessity is the mother of PPP projects. This Minisitry shall have as small office as possible like any other ministries and not modeled on the lines of Railway Board again.

So my dear friends, you cannot get any attention of a bleary red eyed Minister working 24/7 with the highest Secretary level officers, loaded with the details of punctuality reports and accident status and body count, to talk of PPP projects etc. It gets the least priority.

But a fresh faced Minister, whose budget and existence is purely for delivery of Rail Infrastructure will make all the difference. The number of people involved in decision making will be least, and focuses purely on infrastructure development and not on operations.

What do you think? I feel the first hurdle will be the existing railway ministry. They will fight tooth and nail. But Cabinet can act.

Regards to all.