RailEnquiry

West Bengal and its Trinamool government are soon expected to feel the impact of walking out of the UPA government and losing the Railway Ministry. Development in the state has largely been confined to rhetoric and playing of Rabindra Sangeet at street crossings, installation of fancy lamps and building concrete road-dividers with manicured flowering plants.The real development in the state under Banerjee has been in the railway sector and with railway funds. Rail connectivity has vastly improved in the state over the last few years, single lines have been doubled, new stations have been built, more computerized reservation centres added and new trains allotted generously.The state has major projects worth Rs 11,263 crore under the Metro Railways and Rs 8,390 crore in the South Eastern Railways. They include the proposed wagon factory in Singur, rail link to Nandigram and an industrial park and railway factories at half-a-dozen locations. But TMC supporters fear that many of these projects could die a natural death after the party quit the UPA.“Our party never had deep pockets unlike the CPM which ruled the state for 34 years,” said a senior TMC leader. “Our party and didi were highly dependent on the railway ministry.”Party workers said they are also worried about the fate of 16 factories that had huge employment potential. Besides, Banerjee managed to rehabilitate TMC supporters and family members of TMC workers who had become victims of political violence with railway jobs.

Much of this is expected to change and go on to hurt the already damaged finances of the state. This year, the state has budgeted revenues at Rs 76,943 crore and expenditure at Rs 83,801 crore, leaving a deficit of Rs 6,585 crore. While those are projections, the real deficit could jump sharply, experts feel.