The Indian government has responded to the recent CAG report regarding the expenditure on safety by the Indian Railways, stating that the information is being selectively used by certain quarters. According to top government sources, expenditure on all projects of the Indian Railways, including safety-related works, is funded from three major sources – Gross Budgetary Support, internal generation, and external borrowing. The government also set up a non-lapsable fund, Rashtriya Rail Sanraksha Kosh, in 2017 with a corpus of Rs.1 lakh crore for critical safety-related works. As per official data, from 2017-18 to 2021-22, the Railways spent over Rs.1 lakh crore on RRSK works alone. The government of India extended the validity of RRSK for another five years, starting from 2022-23.
Moreover, official records indicate that the expenditure on track renewal on Indian Railways, as part of the safety component, has increased significantly. Within the period of 2004-05 to 2013-14, the expenditure was Rs.47,039 crore, whereas the expenditure for 2014-15 to 2023-24 stands at Rs.8.26 lakh crore.
The Comptroller and Auditor General of India’s report on Derailment in Indian Railways will be replied to in detail by the railway ministry soon. Government sources have claimed that the coverage of RRSK utilization in the report is limited to three years, hence giving a partial picture of the actual expenditure that has been undertaken on track renewal and safety-related works by Indian Railways.
The ministry aims to provide an accurate picture of the expenditure on safety-related measures by the Indian Railways to avoid any misconceptions or misinterpretations.
