Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav on Monday said that the government is giving top priority to safety in railways. Railways is spending Rs 1.14 lakh crore per annum on safety.
Responding to the discussion on the Railway Amendment Bill 2024 in the Rajya Sabha, the minister said that the annual rail accident rate has come down from 171 incidents to 30. The Railway Amendment Bill 2024 was approved by voice vote in the Rajya Sabha. The bill was passed in the Lok Sabha on December 11 last year. The Railway Amendment Bill, 2024 provides for increasing the independence of the Railway Board and improving its functioning.
Response to Railway Amendment Bill
The Railway Minister said, 'In the UPA government, the investment for increasing safety used to be between Rs 8 thousand to 10 thousand crore. Today we are investing more than Rs 1.14 lakh crore every year on increasing safety. He said that steps have been taken to improve tracks, safety equipment and level crossings.'
He said that 4.11 lakh jobs were given during the UPA tenure, and 5.02 lakh jobs were given in the NDA government. He said, now the general managers have 100 percent authority to accept the contract, whether the tender amount is Rs 10 crore or Rs 1,000 crore. General managers have also been given the right to approve projects less than Rs 50 crore. Vaishnav rejected the opposition's apprehension that the Railway Amendment Bill would reduce the power of state governments.
Advised the opposition not to do politics
The Railway Minister advised not to do politics on rail accidents like the stampede at New Delhi Railway Station during Kumbh, saying that the Railway Ministry has taken several measures learning from this incident, which includes creating waiting areas to control the crowd at major stations of the country.
Vaishnav said that the matter is under investigation. It is worth mentioning that on February 15, 18 people died in a stampede at New Delhi Railway Station. Opposition members accused the government of trying to take control of the Railway Board through the Railway Amendment Bill, 2024, and said it was avoiding scrutiny by a parliamentary committee.
Congress member Vivek K. Tankha alleged that the independence of the Railway Board has ended under the proposed law. He demanded autonomy for the Railway Board. Trinamool Congress's Prakash Baraik said the bill should be sent to a select committee of Parliament.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a joint press conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin
After the terrorist attack in Pahalgam in South Kashmir, many major decisions have been taken in
A big lapse has come to light in the security of Bollywood superstar Salman Khan. Within two days
Cold returns to Delhi-NCR, hailstorms in Rajasthan and MP; snowfall in Uttarakhand
The weather is changing every moment in most parts of the country, including Delhi-NCR. A sudden
Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav finally broke his silence on refusing to shake hands with Pakista
The government and the army held a press conference after the Indian Armed Forces' strike 'Operat
The Supreme Court took suo motu cognizance of the Delhi and NCR air pollution crisis and held a h
Director Aditya Dhar’s films, Dhurandhar and Dhurandhar: The Revenge, have raked in massive
Disha Patani is a famous actress of Hindi cinema. More than her film career, Disha remains in the
How does India look from space? On hearing this question, everyone remembers Indian astronaut Rak
