Mamta kept her promises in the buget 09-10

Soon after railway minister Mamata Banerjee finished reading out her 2009-10 budget speech in Parliament, there were some who smirked and said: "It is a good budget if she has the next five years in mind to implement all the projects." Even as Mamata gets ready for the 2010-11 railway budget, those who made the snide remarks have egg on their faces. She has succeeded in keeping most of her promises. It is another matter altogether that new trains, remodelled stations and plans for industry, hospitals and colleges do not necessarily constitute a good railway budget.

"Mamata has been largely successful. She has gone beyond railways and considered the overall development of the state. The people of West Bengal have always felt that the Centre has not done enough for the state. Mamata has given a lot. What she has done is unprecedented," said Bhaskar Chowdhury, former chief commercial manager, Metro Railway.

To start with, all the new trains gifted to West Bengal in the 2009-10 budget have been flagged off. In fact, the state has got a few additional trains as the year progressed. The most significant among these were the three Duronto Expresses. One of these is running to full capacity between Sealdah and New Delhi. The remaining two are between Howrah and Chhatrapati Sivaji Terminus and Yeshwantpur. The train between Howrah and Yeshwantpur was to be a superfast one. Mamata later elevated its status to a non-stop Duronto.

"Nearly all her plans for South Eastern Railway have materialised. Work has started for a multi-functional complex in Digha. Plans have also been drawn out for a medical college at Garden Reach. The documents have been sent to the Railway Board for approval. Of the 32 Adarsh stations under SER, work has been completed for 11. By March 31, 16 Adarsh stations will be ready. Work has also commenced on the new lines announced in the budget. Laying of a third track between Panskura and Kharagpur a very important project is underway," a senior SER official said.

Officials agree that many projects that commenced recently had been announced years ago. However, they had been relegated to the cold storage with nobody to check the progress. Mamata's greatest success, possibly, is her efforts to rejuvenate such projects. It was due to her efforts that the Metro Railway stretch between Tollygunge and Garia Bazaar was thrown open. Had she not insisted, officials would have waited till the entire stretch up to New Garia was complete.

"The stretch up to Garia Bazaar has been extremely popular. People from the southern fringes have benefited immensely. Had Mamata not insisted, the stretch would not have been thrown open," a senior Metro official said.

Her efforts towards industrialization have also been welcomed by officials. There exists a genuine demand for wagons and coaches and they see no harm if the railways tie up with the private sector for manufacturing these. A public sector unit has already expressed interest in Mamata's plans for a coach-manufacturing unit at Halisahar. If everything proceeds according to plans, the component manufacturing units at Dankuni will also be very successful. The coach maintenance unit at Dum Dum's Noapara will also be extremely beneficial when Metro gets new rakes, apart from generating jobs.

"These are steps in the right direction. There is no hard and fast rule that the railways cannot look into overall development of a region. In fact, the railways is about development and there should always be an effort to promote industry," an official said.

Mamata's stress towards improvement of passenger amenities has also received much acclaim. Railway officials have now been forced to maintain vigil on issues such as cleanliness on trains and quality of food served on board. Cleaning of compartments and toilets at intermediary stations have been taken up seriously and private caterers operating under licence of the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) have been made to understand that no negligence will be tolerated.