Speaking with Business Standard after participating in the National Infrastructure Development Mission conference in New Delhi, state finance minister Jayant Patil said, "We all know that railways were the engines of first industrial revolution in India in the late 19th and early 20th century and if we want to have manufacturing-based growth, which will provide employment to millions, the time has come to invest in the modernisation of the rail network".
He further said, "Maharashtra has always remained in the forefront of the economic development of the country and the growth of the gross state domestic production has been in the double digit mark for the last two to three years. If investments are made in the rail network, state will easily grow at the present 10 percent rate and lift the country's overall growth rate".
He said the present average speed of Indian railways is just around 55 kmph and maximum speed is about 110 kmph, which is even lower than the speed in some of developing countries."
Tracks can be upgraded at an investment of Rs 4-6 crore per kilometre to facilitate a speed of 160-200 kmph. The investment is within the means of the railways, which earned Rs 13,000 crore profit in 2005-06 financial year and it is expected to earn Rs 20,000 crore during this fiscal, he said.
"We can persuade entrepreneurs to look beyond the Mumbai-Pune-Nashik triangle for investment in the backward regions of the state if the railways improves the tracks between Mumbai and Nanded in the Marathwada region or Mumbai and Nagpur."
More than tax sops, connectivity matters a lot. Industrialists who are now finding it difficult to get land in the Mumbai-Pune-Nashik triangle will be more than willing to go to backward regions of the state, according to Jayant Patil.
"The state government has given a formal proposal in this regard to the railway ministry and the response from minister Lalu Prasad and senior officials is positive."
Going a step ahead, the state government has suggested laying of very fast tracks to facilitate a speed of up to 350 kmph in the public-private partnership.
"Though such a capital-intensive project would require a viability gap fund, we should not be daunted by the task as world-class infrastructure is the only way out."
Patil further said, "Railways has been the subject of his studies for the last several years and has visited many railway expos in the world besides participating in conferences to keep himself abreast of the latest developments in the railway sector. He said he is preparing a presentation based on his study to show it to the state cabinet."
