Planning Commission asks Railways to raise fare

New Delhi, Jan 25 (UNI) To reduce the subsidy burden on the Centre, the Planning Commission has asked Indian Railways to substantially increase its short distance fare for passengers to increase its revenues.

Railways have been charging 20-25 paise per kilometre from its passengers against 40 paise to 60 paise per kilometre by road transporters.

''This puts a subsidy burden on the government, which goes against the equity fare concept of transportation sector, in addition to preventing induction of efficiencies in the Indian Railways,'' Planning Commission Advisor B N Puri said here today.

Speaking at a conference on 'Energy Efficiency in Transportation Sector', Mr Puri said a sub-group has been constituted within the Planning Commission to recommend ways and means for creation of logistics hubs to help the government in formulating an integrated transport policy.

''The recommendations of the group is expected within a month's time so that allocations are made in a proportionate manner for development of road sector transport, railways transport, airports transport in an equitable manner,'' he added.

The Commission has also undertaken a study to enable RITES to make appropriate allocation, from investment point of view, to the domestic transportation sector.

Mr Puri said currently the transport sector is under heavy pressure and lacks a direction and therefore efforts are being made to make it sustain the increasing growth expectations of a booming economy like that of India.

It is in view of this that the Commission was ''seriously contemplating logistic hubs within the Yojana Bhawan to suggest ways and means to take on the pressures of growing transportation sector so that a proper policy framework is put in place''.

The energy efficiency of transport sector is going down with rising energy consumption levels and that is why, integrated development of transport system was urgently called for, pointed out Mr Puri.

UNI