Railway Budget 2009-10: Mamata Banerjee's Bengal bonanza

KOLKATA: Mamata Banerjee’s gravy train for Bengal was predictably loaded with goodies. New manufacturing units, a 1000 mw power plant, a boost to the Eastern Industrial Corridor and creation and utilisation of Railways land bank. 

In one masterstroke, she has managed to project a ‘pro-industry’ image not just in her home state, but pan-India. That will perhaps be the lasting impression of her 2009-10 budget proposals, long after the euphoria about new non-stop trains fade out. 

To start with, Ms Banerjee has proposed at least two new big projects for the state as part of her move to boost railway infrastructure. Setting up of a new factory at the Kanchrapara-Halisahar Railway complex with annual capacity of 500 EMU/MEMU and Metro coaches per annum in joint venture in public-private partnership mode. One big advantage is that railway land is already available for this project, she said. 

She also proposed a plan to set up a 1000 mw thermal plant at Adra with the power ministry, to avail of traction supply at economical rates. The plant would come up in an under-developed tribal zone near the Jharkhand-Bengal border. She said, this project would help provide employment and bring the tribal people into the mainstream. 

The railway minister dwelt at large on what is clearly the Railway’s most ambitious project -- the Eastern and Western Dedicated Freight Corridors. The project may have been proposed during her predecessor Lalu Prasad’s regime, but she clearly stole the thunder by dedicating a substantial part of her speech to it. This and her overall reliance on PPPs seem to have gone down well with industry.