Polls around the corner, so gravy train for Bengal

Polls around the corner, so gravy train for Bengal
BHAVNA VIJ

NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 26: Living up to the tradition set by her predecessors, Mamata Bannerjee today presented a budget which once again gave the lion’s share to the state.

Apart from seven new trains, she managed to announce a number of new lines and projects for West Bengal. Her claim of ‘‘no new lines and projects’’ notwithstanding. Priority would be given to expeditiously complete the ongoing projects, she said. In both the cases, it is West Bengal that has benefited.

Bannerjee found a way of announcing new lines and projects by disguising them as ‘‘extensions’’ of ongoing projects or material modification. ‘‘Actually they are nothing but new lines that have been cleverly included in the budget without the requisite Cabinet clearance,’’ disclosed an official.

So the railway minister sneaked in four new projects for her state:
* A gauge conversion project by a new link from Bowai-Chandi to Khana to connect Midnapur, Bankura and Purulia
* Gauge conversion from Krishnanagar-Shantipur as an extension to the sanctioned doubling from Kalinarayanpur to Krishnanagar
* Extension of doubling project from Kalinarayanpur to Krishnanagar by providing a new link from Krishnanagar to Charatala
* Extension of Eklakhi-Balurghat project by a new link from Gazol to Itahar as Phase-I of Gazol-Raiganj.

That’s not all. Under the head of metropolitan transport projects, she announced two additional new lines for Kolkata. As an extension of Calcutta Circular Railway Project, she announced a link between Ultadanga and Rajarhat to connect Dum Dum airpot to Titagarh in the north and to Garia in the south.

In addition to the seven new trains, frequency of two West Bengal trains was increased Sealdah-New Delhi Rajdhani from two days to four days a week and Sealdah-Darbhanga Ganga Sagar Express from four days to daily. Services of three trains were extended.

Moreover, the railway minister promised to introduce train services between Siliguri and Changrabandha via New Mal junction, between Eklakhi and Gazol to be extended up to Balurghat on completion of the new line and an express train from Howrah to Digha, again on completion of the new line.

Meanwhile, from among the new lines she put on the priority list, to be completed in 2001-2002, half are from her state. Three out of five high- priority line doubling projects are also from West Bengal. Most of the other states, however, got only surveys for new lines 26 in total. ‘‘She has proved true the old railway joke where there is a will, there is a railway, otherwise only a survey,’’ said a railway official. It was apparent where Mamata’s will lay.

Talking to reporters after presenting the budget, she denied that she had been partial towards her state. ‘‘If that were the case, I would have announced new lines and projects for the state,’’ she said indignantly. However, in her case, like she said at one point during the budget speech ‘‘My speech would be silver but my silence would be golden.’’

She was referring to resources that she expected from the government exchequer, but she could well have been talking about the ‘‘unannounced’’ projects for the state.