*Ensure completion of Katra-Banihal section by Dec 2017
Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Apr 30: Though the cost of Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Railway Line (USBRL) Project has increased by 300%, the Union Railways Ministry has yet not taken any step towards containing cost escalation despite the fact that work on most difficult but vital link between Katra to Banihal is still going on. Moreover, the Ministry has completely ignored the establishment of monitoring mechanism, which otherwise is imperative to check huge losses and delays.
These observations have been made by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the Lok Sabha headed by Prof K V Thomas in its 49th report on Action Taken by the Government on the observations/ recommendations of the Committee contained in the 40th Report on Rail Link to Kashmir. The PAC presented its report in Lok Sabha as well as Rajya Sabha on April 28, 2016.
The USBRL Project is the most challenging project taken up by Indian Railways since independence. The strategic importance of the project to Jammu and Kashmir and to the nation as a whole cannot be overstated as such it was declared as a project of national importance. However, the project suffered from inefficient planning resulting in inordinate delays in implementation with time and exorbitant cost escalation.
The section from Udhampur to Katra was completed in July 2014 more than 11 years behind schedule and the section from Katra to Banihal scheduled to be completed by August 2007 is yet to be completed. The initial cost of the project estimated at Rs 1500 crore in 1994-95 has touched Rs 20,000 crore as of September 2013-an increase of more than 300% based on the rates of 2010, the PAC observed.
“It is a matter of serious concern that Railways Ministry is still uncertain about the final cost of the project”, the PAC said, adding “we had exhorted the Ministry to prepare the estimates on realistic basis and for cost control and project monitoring so that the final cost of the project is not allowed to inflate imprudently”.
“We are unhappy to note the casual reply of the Ministry that the detailed estimate of Katra-Banihal section is being framed by the PSUs—IRCON and KRCL incorporating all components”, the Parliamentary Panel said while expressing displeasure that Railways Ministry is not serious about containing cost escalation otherwise it should have spelt out the measures in this regard.
Stating that Ministry has given no explanation for such a humongous increase in the cost of the project, which is approximately 13 times the original cost, the PAC said, “no steps have been taken by the Ministry in ensuring that cost estimation in other similar projects is accurate and monitoring is adequate and strict”.
About avoidable losses and claims to the tune of Rs 3258.92 crore in the course of execution of the project, the Parliamentary Panel said, “we had desired the Ministry to fix responsibility and put in place a mechanism to avert such losses and claims. But we are aghast to note the callous reply of the Ministry that decisions were taken collectively over a period of time at various levels in the Railways, Railway Board and PSUs”, adding “the Ministry has ignored the other observation regarding setting up of a monitoring mechanism despite the fact that imprudent planning and deficient project monitoring resulted in huge losses/delays”.
“This indicates that Ministry has not learnt any lessons from these lapses”, the PAC remarked while stressing that collective responsibility should be fixed against all those responsible for taking such decisions and action taken against the concerned officials.
It is worthwhile to mention here that general planning failure on part of Railways had contributed to a loss of Rs 3258.92 crore as of 2010 on account of contractors claims (Rs 1514.40 crore), foreclosure of contracts and award of balance work at higher rates (Rs 1122.63 crore), loss on account of already executed assets (Rs 281.42 crore), expenditure on rectification of defective works (Rs 194.37 crore), delayed approval/midway revision of drawings/design (Rs 62.34 crore), loss on account of idle manpower/machinery (Rs 57.24 crore) and overpayment/ non-recovery of railway dues (Rs 26.52 crore).
Pointing towards the revised deadline of December 2017 for completion of Katra-Banihal section of the project, the Parliamentary Panel said, “we hope that the project would now be completed within the revised timeline of 2017-2018”, adding “in order to ensure the completion of project as per schedule, the Ministry should monitor the progress of this particular leg of the project on monthly basis by a designated officer at Railway Board level and apprise the committee accordingly”.
This leg was awarded to Northern Railways Construction Organization (NRCO), Konkan Railway Corporation Ltd (KRCL) and Ircon International Limited (IRCON) in 2002 with scheduled date of completion in 2007 but now the timeline has been revised to December 2017.
Referring to the recommendation regarding effective interactions with State Government to expedite land acquisition and forest clearance so that progress of work on the project is not impeded, the PAC has noted with serious concern that the Ministry has not given any specific reply on the status of the land acquisition and forest clearance as a result of the efforts made by them.
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