Railways ask shareholding States to either fund Konkan railway expansion or relinquish their share

Only Goa has conveyed its willingness to relinquish its stake in Konkan Railway Corporation Ltd., says Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Wednesday, November 27, informed the Lok Sabha that only Goa, among the four States holding a stake in Konkan Railway Corporation Ltd. (KRCL), has conveyed its willingness to relinquish its share in favour of the Railway Ministry.

The Ministry had asked the shareholding State governments — Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala, and Goa — to contribute to capital expenditure in the KRCL as per their share or relinquish their shares in favour of the Ministry. This was needed in view of the KRCL infrastructure requiring major renewal/replacement of capital assets, as they have become more than 25 years old. Other States are yet to respond.

Initially, the Union government, through the Railway Ministry, had held 51.48% of the total equity share capital with the balance being held by Maharashtra (22.21%), Karnataka (15.14%), Kerala (6.06%), and Goa (5.11%). With the Ministry funding a few of the expansion projects and converting the investment as its share, it now holds 65.97% of the shares, followed by 15.57%, 10.62%, 4.25%, and 3.59% shares held by Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala, and Goa, respectively.

Mr. Vaishnaw was responding to an un-starred question by MP for Udupi-Chikkamagaluru Kota Srinivas Poojary as to whether all the State governments have agreed to relinquish their shares and by when people in the Konkan region could expect a formal notification.

Meanwhile, in a separate letter to the Minister on November 26, Mr. Poojary urged him to initiate communication with the Karnataka government to ensure seamless merger of the KRCL with the Indian Railways.

People on the west coast feel they were missing out on the advancement in rail travel as the KRCL was unable to augment its infrastructure following financial constraints. Though the Karnataka government had in May this year agreed to hand over its share, there was no further communication, the MP said.

The same day, Mr. Poojary along with two other coastal MPs, Capt. Brijesh Cowta (Dakshina Kannada) and Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri (Uttara Kannada), met Mr. Vaishnaw and submitted a list of demands, including the merger.

Konkan lagging behind

Commissioned in 1998 following the efforts of the late George Fernandes, the 760-km KRCL network did not see any augmentation, including line doubling and new terminal facilities, even after 25 years, even as the railway infrastructure and facilities across the country are witnessing developments.

Published - November 27, 2024 09:22 pm IST