Rail Budget 2014 an 'ill-prepared' document, says Congress in LS

NEW DELHI: Government today came under attack in the Lok Sabha over proposals in its maiden Railway budget, with Congress describing it as an "ill-prepared" document containing "wild dreams".

Initiating debate in the Lok Sabha, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury attacked the government for bringing FDI in building railway infrastructure and allowing PPP in one of the biggest networks in the world.

"These models are not successful anywhere in the world," said Chowdhury, a former Minister of State for Railways.

He asked from where the government was going to generate Rs 9 lakh crore for funding Diamond Quadrilateral project.

He also took potshots at the government's proposal for running bullet trains in the country, saying it was a very costly project and Rs 100 crore allocated in the budget was "meagre".

"You have failed to deliver any roadmap to commonman. You live in make believe world. Start living in true world. From where you are going to generated Rs 9 lakh crore for Diamond Quadrilateral project?," he said.

Chowdhury alleged that there were various "factual mistakes" in the budget presented by Railway Minister Sadananda Gowda.

Questioning the government's claim that the previous UPA government did not start executing majority of the 99 projects announced during their tenure, he said four of these projects sanctioned in 2013-14 were completed and 46 were about to be completed.

The Congress leader said delay in getting green clearances, land acquisition and protests in the areas where the project is envisaged were the major reasons for the delay in their execution.

He said the government, in its budget, has created an impression that it was discontinuing projects including new lines and guage conversion which are not giving "proper return".

New lines are meant for bringing development in the backward regions of the country, Chowdhury said.