‘Railways land allocated without seeking NOC’
Minister Rafique says previous govt made move for political gain
According to official records, Railways in financial year 2013 earned majority of its revenue through passenger traffic with freight accounting for just 13%. PHOTO: FILE
LAHORE:
Minister for Railways Khawaja Saad Rafique said the land owned by the state-owned entity and allocated by previous provincial governments for slums was illegal, since the subject falls in the jurisdiction of the centre.
He said so-called ownership rights were meant for political gain, and the move was nothing less than fraud.
"According to the law, Railways has to issue a no-objection certificate (NOC) before the land transfer. It never issued those NOCs," said Rafique in what would be his last press conference as railways minister in the current government's tenure.
"Provincial governments don't have the authority to allocate federal land to anyone. Nevertheless, the department is now framing a mechanism that will create a win-win situation for both parties", he said, adding that residents will not be kicked out.
"We will pursue a land regularisation policy, which will generate some amount of revenue for the organisation.
CJP wants Pakistan Railways audit within six weeks
"When I took charge in 2013, the performance of the land management department was pathetic. We have managed to digitise the record and have identified 10,790 acres of land, which did not feature in the account previously."
The minister was of the view that railways land should be utilised for commercial purposes, contributing revenue to the loss-making entity. "No railways in the world can earn money through passenger traffic alone.
"In fact, railways leases its land for commercial purposes. We have to keep our fares low to cater to the low-income groups. Focus needs to be on utilising land to earn profits."
Over 25m people apply for 1.3m railway vacancies in India
According to official records, Railways' in financial year 2013 earned majority of its revenue through passenger traffic with freight accounting for just 13%. However, in five years, the dynamics have changed in favour of freight, which has increased to 39%. Close to 55% still comes through passenger traffic.
"Through the increase in locomotives, which have increased from 10-12 in 2013 to 112 dedicated ones, we are managing to regain lost momentum.
Railways upgrade: Pakistan delays approval of Mainline-I amid differences over cost
"Our passenger traffic has increased from 15 million to 55 million, and this has helped Railways increase its revenue from Rs18.1 billion in 2012-13 to Rs50 billion in 2017-18," Rafique said.
On public-private partnerships, Rafique said the model has failed for Railways. "We have two prime examples, which didn't work in favour of railways", he said, referring to the cases of leasing out land to the Royal Palm Golf and Country Club in Lahore and Pakistan's first PPP mode train, the 'Pak Business Express'.
"Railways needs at least 10-12 more years to shape itself into a modern entity."
Published in The Express Tribune, May 26th, 2018.
Minister for Railways Khawaja Saad Rafique said the land owned by the state-owned entity and allocated by previous provincial governments for slums was illegal, since the subject falls in the jurisdiction of the centre.
He said so-called ownership rights were meant for political gain, and the move was nothing less than fraud.
"According to the law, Railways has to issue a no-objection certificate (NOC) before the land transfer. It never issued those NOCs," said Rafique in what would be his last press conference as railways minister in the current government's tenure.
"Provincial governments don't have the authority to allocate federal land to anyone. Nevertheless, the department is now framing a mechanism that will create a win-win situation for both parties", he said, adding that residents will not be kicked out.
"We will pursue a land regularisation policy, which will generate some amount of revenue for the organisation.
CJP wants Pakistan Railways audit within six weeks
"When I took charge in 2013, the performance of the land management department was pathetic. We have managed to digitise the record and have identified 10,790 acres of land, which did not feature in the account previously."
The minister was of the view that railways land should be utilised for commercial purposes, contributing revenue to the loss-making entity. "No railways in the world can earn money through passenger traffic alone.
"In fact, railways leases its land for commercial purposes. We have to keep our fares low to cater to the low-income groups. Focus needs to be on utilising land to earn profits."
Over 25m people apply for 1.3m railway vacancies in India
According to official records, Railways' in financial year 2013 earned majority of its revenue through passenger traffic with freight accounting for just 13%. However, in five years, the dynamics have changed in favour of freight, which has increased to 39%. Close to 55% still comes through passenger traffic.
"Through the increase in locomotives, which have increased from 10-12 in 2013 to 112 dedicated ones, we are managing to regain lost momentum.
Railways upgrade: Pakistan delays approval of Mainline-I amid differences over cost
"Our passenger traffic has increased from 15 million to 55 million, and this has helped Railways increase its revenue from Rs18.1 billion in 2012-13 to Rs50 billion in 2017-18," Rafique said.
On public-private partnerships, Rafique said the model has failed for Railways. "We have two prime examples, which didn't work in favour of railways", he said, referring to the cases of leasing out land to the Royal Palm Golf and Country Club in Lahore and Pakistan's first PPP mode train, the 'Pak Business Express'.
"Railways needs at least 10-12 more years to shape itself into a modern entity."
Published in The Express Tribune, May 26th, 2018.