Railways to find resources for ongoing projects

New Delhi, Mar 18 (UNI) Railway Minister Lalu Prasad today informed the Rajya Sabha that he would consult Prime Minister Manmohan Singh about mopping up Rs 25,000 crore to fund various pending and ongoing projects in the country and said he was against jettisoning these pending plans midway.

Replying to the discussions on Appropriation Bill (Railways) No 3, he said there was a long list of pending projects which remained unexecuted for 10 to 15 years. The Railways, unable to find resources on occasions, allocated money ranging from Rs one to 10 lakhs.

''I am not in favour of dumping the projects as it would cause resentment in people but it is better to find resources by way of loans or some such means to execute the job,'' he said.

He said the Railways, which was the target for criticism all these years had come out clean astonishingly by increasing its freight revenues. ''We are going to increase our freight revenues and are proceeding in a direction that will make the Railways self- sustaining,'' he remarked.

Turning to AIADMK's P G Narayanan, the Minister said Chennai will not be far away in the freight corridor link and he would not discriminate against any state or region. ''We are earning revenues and the corridor will reach wherever there is an opportunity for transport of goods,'' he said.

He said Railways was grappling with the problem of Rs 2,500 crore scrap lying in various Railway yards in the country. Managing such huge quantum of scraps is a big problem and much of it was theft prone. He had issued instruction to sell these scraps in a transparent manner after ensuring the needs for four wheel and axle plants of the Railways.

The Railway Minister had also had a word of praise and special thanks for BJP member Arun Jaitley and described him as a friend and an eminent jurist who spoke good things about him unlike his party colleagues and listens to him whenever he speaks in the House.

The House returned the Appropriation Bill that authorised the payment and appropriation of certain sums from the consolidated fund of India for the year 2006-07.

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