Railway Mininister has no time for Orissa !

Indian Express, Bhubaneswar, 19/02/2010

Mamata Banerjee, known so far for her Bengal-centric railway budget has probably little time for Orissa. An appointment, sought a month ago by the House Committee under Assembly Speaker Pradip Amat, is still waiting for a green signal from her Ministry and the PMO. The committee members were expected to put across Orissa’s needs and demands before the railway budget is presented.


The Assembly secretariat is trying to fix an appointment with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the Railway Minister for over a month now. This has given rise to apprehension in the ruling dispensation as to whether Orissa will get justice in Mamata’s scheme of things.

This has evoked sharp reaction from the State Government with Parliamentary Affairs Minister Raghunath Mohanty describing it as yet another instance of Central neglect.

The House Committee had sought time from the Minister to argue its case for more funding to complete the ongoing projects in time so vital for upgrading the State’s infrastructure, Mohanty said. So far there has been no word on it. If the appointment is not given by February 20, the committee cannot meet her, Mohanty pointed out.

The committee, headed by the Speaker, meets at least the Railway Minister almost every year to argue for more funds in the Budget for the State’s projects. However, Speaker Amat is still hopeful of a meeting with at least Mamata.

“I am expecting that the Railway Minister will meet the committee in time,’’ he said, adding that the panel can meet Mamata if appointment is given within the next couple of days.

The State Government had submitted a memorandum to the Minister with a demand of Rs 1,805 crore to be provided to Orissa in this year’s Budget. Many of the demands were for enhanced funding for ongoing projects and introduction of several new trains.