Then there is a Faluknuma Express which starts from Secunderabad and goes up to Howrah. This does not even stop at the district headquarters Nalgonda. But there is a technical stop at Miryalguda which is a commercial headquarters as from there the division changes. We have been requesting for some time past to stop the train there. Kindly consider this. You may instruct the concerned authorities for the same.

I also request you for doing the needful in respect of certain small things. As we represent our area, certain people who work as constables or some ordinary people in the Railway Protection Force, come to the Members of Parliament expecting that we will take care of their grievances. They come with a small request for transfer from some corner of India to their towns or to their villages on the ground of some family problem or ill health. It is a very small matter to be told in this august House. Still I feel, if we the representatives of the people cannot take care of some of these problems, they will definitely feel that we are not doing justice to them. I have also written letters to the hon. Minister about this. These requests concern only to Andhra Pradesh. I request you to please look into them.

There is one more thing. From Mukhed to Nizamabad, a survey is going on for conversion of railway line from metre-gauge to broad-gauge. I request you to get the work done at the earliest.

Coming to some general aspects, I would say that the increase in the rates by five per cent, ten per cent and twenty per cent has been very carefully done. We have to appreciate it. If there is no increase, there is no development. If there is no development, we will definitely feel it. Whatever is being done about it, we feel that the increase in rates is very carefully done. What we feel about is the five per cent increase in the sleeper charges. As the hon. Minister has said, 93 per cent of passengers are ordinary people who travel by sleeper coaches. In 1995-96 Budget, sleeper charges were not levied for the first 200 kilometres. But this time, sleeper charges are levied for all the distances. Kindly consider this aspect.

Coming to the second part, a ten per cent surcharge has been levied on those people who travel by air-conditioned coaches. It is fine. But the 12 per cent surcharge on the freight definitely looks to be a matter of concern to everybody. This has to be taken into consideration. We request you to see that this is considered.

Coming to the casual labour, out of 56,000 casual labours, around 16,000 have been regularised.

It is also promised that before the end of 31st March, 1997, another 14,000 casual labourers will be regularised and a balance of 26,000 will be regularised by the end of 1998. This is as per your Railway Budget.

We really feel happy that it is being done methodically. But the procedural matters and so many other things definitely will give some difficulties in between. But I know that the hon. Railway Minister is stern and he would definitely take up with the concerned officials so that before 31st March, those 14,000 casual workers are regularised. I know that the regularisation of 14,000 workers may be difficult but you draw a line and tell your officers to do their job so that it is successfully completed. So many casual labourers are coming all the times requesting us to represent their case. I, therefore request once again that this job may kindly be got done.

Now, I come to the point of level crossings. The hon. Minister had given a Statement after becoming the Minister that he will definitely take it seriously; and unmanned gates will be manned as many as possible, at the earliest. I have got the statistics -- may be subject to correction -- that out of 40,671 level crossings, 24,554 are still unmanned and only 16,117 are manned. We know, even at the places where they are manned, because of some mistakes by the people who are involved there for signalling and other things, certain accidents are taking place. Today also we have come to know from the newspaper reports that in Madhya Pradesh, 16 people have died and many are injured due to collision between a train and a bus. So, I would request the hon. Minister of Railways to look into the matter of manning level crossings very seriously.

I would also like to know whether any Budget provision has been made in this respect. I also tried to know, after the Statement of the hon. Minister in this august House, about the progress made about how many unmanned level crossings had been manned but I could not get the reply.

So, here I would request the hon. Minister that please make some schedules that so many manning of level crossings should have been done this year and so many will be done next year and like that. I shall be very happy if this work is completed before the year 2,000 A.D. If he can do it, perhaps he will be doing a great service to the nation.

Now, I come to the Safety. Giving a new railway line, expansion and other things is very important, there is no doubt, but the safety of the people is also equally important. Wherever we have created some facilities, if there is no safety, we will not be doing justice to our expansion, progress and development. So, I would request him once again to give a serious thought to this and make provision if it is not done already.

SHRI NIRMAL KANTI CHATTERJEE (DUMDUM): He alone cannot do it. Shri Chidambaram has to do it... (Interruptions)

DR. B.N. REDDY (MIRYALGUDA): No, no, he is also equally important person there in the Ministry. He matters. If he is serious, it will be done. So, let us give him the credit.

SHRI PRAMOTHES MUKHERJEE (BERHAMPORE) (WB): So, he is the leader of the House... (Interruptions)

DR. B.N. REDDY (MIRYALGUDA): He is the leader.

So, I would request him, through you, to look into it. Level crossings are really very important. In my area from where I come, not only human lives are lost but also several cattle are dying due to unmanning of level crossings. They do not know; nobody is there and they just walk. Several times these things go unnoticed. Nobody pays any compensations. Those poor people cannot go and ask anybody. Even if they go for compensation, no body hears them.

SHRI NIRMAL KANTI CHATTERJEE (DUMDUM): May I just make an intervention?

I have an interesting story to narrate, Mr. Deputy-Speaker, Sir.

On Thursday, we were travelling by Rajdhani Express. That Rajdhani Express was fitted with a new imported engine. It was going very smoothly. At Dhanbad, it came in touch with several buffalos and they were killed. And then, it proceeded for Burdwan. It was an imported engine. It killed a few more cattle. There the problem was that the imported engine was not meant to come in collision with the cattle and therefore, at Bardwan that engine itself broke-down and we had to wait for two hours for refixing the engine and reach the house.

SHRI BASAVARAJ RAYAREDDI (KOPPAL): Our buffaloes are stronger than the foreign engine!

DR. B.N. REDDY (MIRYALGUDA): I am coming to the end. I have to make a few small points.

Shri Basu Deb Acharia was mentioning about the question of priority of our funding. I would not exactly say that I know more than all of you do. But definitely perhaps it has to be considered that comparing to other requirements, other developments, whether the amount - thousands of crores of rupees - which is being provided for gauge conversion and being distributed over the years is really being done according to the necessity under the circumstances. This could be given a serious thought. If we look at the way we need the facilities and the resources that we have, definitely our resources are less and we need a lot of facilities. So, under these circumstances, kindly give a serious thought to gauge conversions and take the priority as per the circumstances and necessities.

Regarding quality, every sister and brother here have spoken about it. I do not want to go into them. But as times pass by, we have to improve the quality also. We say so many things about the rate, that it should be less. But I would say that the rate of anything should be reasonable and the quality should be good. Saying that everything should be cheap is not correct. We cannot get things cheap and still have quality. But at a reasonable cost, whatever we are spending, we have to improve the quality as times pass by as we have to be in this competitive world.

Regarding robbery and killings, everybody has been talking about it and I also heard the hon. Minister saying that his Ministry does not have that portfolio. That may be true. But still he is not different from other Ministers. He is in the same Government and in the same Ministry. What I mean to say is that he need not take all the responsibility on his head, but he has to sit along with other people in the Government. The Prime Minister and the whole Cabinet is responsible for the safety of the passengers.

SHRI RAM VILAS PASWAN: What I said was it is between the State and the Centre.

DR. B.N. REDDY (MIRYALGUDA): Even the Chief Minister can sit with the Union Cabinet Ministers. Instead of the Cabinet Ministers saying that it is the job of the State, and the Chief Minister saying that it is the job of the Central Governments, they have to see that both the Central Government and the State Government take care of the safety aspect.

I thank you.

(ends)

MR. DEPUTY-SPEAKER: Shri Narayan Athawalay.

SHRI SURESH PRABHU (RAJAPUR): I will speak in his place, Sir.

MR. DEPUTY-SPEAKER: All right.

1734 hours

SHRI SURESH PRABHU (RAJAPUR): Thank you, Sir. I must compliment the Railway Minister for his stand that he just announced while intervening in the debate that if the representatives of States had gone and met him, he would sort out their issues. He mentioned the names of a few States like Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Orissa and some other States. He has also volunteered and offered that if the MPs from West Bengal go and see him, he will definitely be able to sort out their issues. I feel he would also consider Maharashtra in that category, so that we can go to him, explain to him about our issues and be able to get them sorted out by him.

Mumbai, which is the capital of the State contributes significantly towards the revenue of the Railways. I think, he will definitely be able to sort out the issues pertaining to our State.

Many hon. Members have expressed concern about the security of the passengers who travel by the Railways. I would not like to say that in the case of railway passengers of Mumbai, in Mumbai trains there is no place for passengers to get in. So, there is no place for any dacoit. No thief can enter the trains in Mumbai. So, I will not be able to share the concern of the passengers on that count.

I would also like to draw attention to the project that the Railways have undertaken and completed successfully, the Konkan Railways. I happen to represent that constituency, especially the Konkan region and so I must compliment the Railway authorities for completing this project in a record time.

This project was envisaged and it was contemplated as a project for socio-economic development. This project is now due for completion. As per your statement, it is about 98 per cent complete and but for certain developments taking place in Goa, it is now on the verge of completion. It is time to take stock of what we have attained by this new project.

Wherever there is a socio-economic project, it is needless to say that the local people should be absorbed in employment on such a massive project. This project has been completed only because thousands of people virtually donated their lands to the Railway authorities, that is they signed the documents without any hesitation, which is only a single example of how people have really contributed towards the development of this project. The various poor farmers, who offered their land even without knowing how much compensation they are going to get, have not yet got compensation for the precious land that they have parted with. I would appeal to the hon. Minister of Railways to immediately constitute a tribunal to go into the demands and claims of the various farmers and settle their disputes immediately. A railway project of this magnitude costs several hundreds of crores of rupees. I think, it is more than Rs.200 crore. The component of land involved in that is hardly anything and it is time the Railway authorities really seriously considered about compensating the farmers at market price. Otherwise, they will be failing in their duty if they call it a socio-economic development and project and the social aspect of the project is excluded.