Proposal to merge Konkan with Indian Railways faces opposition

Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, and BJP MP from Karnataka, Shobha Karandlaje, has requested Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw to merge Konkan Railway Corporation Ltd (KRCL) with Indian Railways (IR). But KRCL’s founding chairperson E Sreedharan, popularly known as ‘Metroman’, and Member of Parliament Eranna Kadadi are against the move, saying such a merger would lead to the concerned states losing control over KRCL, and work against federal interests.

The proposal is riddled with difficulties as four states that have controlling stakes in the corporation — Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala and Goa — will have to agree to the proposal. Also, KRCL cannot be merged with IR until all its debts are cleared or taken over by the latter.

Kannadigas protest operations ‘hijack’

A lobby group and rail users’ forum in coastal Karnataka, along with legislators and parliamentarians from the region, are pushing for the merger alleging that the corporation is unwilling to accommodate trains required for the region and hence has failed to fulfil the aspirations of coastal Karnataka.

Also read: E. Sreedharan: the Metro Man who gave BJP a ‘different image’

Sudarshan Puttur, convenor of Puttur-based Kukke Shree Subrahmanya-Mangalore Rail Commuters Forum, said Konkan Railway is doing injustice and other states have hijacked its operations. If they have to get trains from Mumbai CST to Mangaluru, KRCL does not allocate signals easily, he alleged.

“While they allow trains to other destinations, Bengaluru-bound trains and local passenger trains (from Kannur to Mookambika) are all given secondary priority. So, Kannadigas’ demands are neglected and hence we are revolting,” Puttur said.

He further said the Palghat division of Southern Railway, which has jurisdiction over the Mangaluru Central-Thokur stretch, hasn’t met the demands of locals for the introduction of more trains to other parts of Karnataka. They feel that if KRCL is taken over by IR, they can demand the creation of a separate Mangaluru Division.

The cancellation of the Bengaluru-Kannur-Karwar overnight express in favour of a direct overnight train between Bengaluru and Karwar, has irked people in Dakshina Kannada, as the train bypasses Mangaluru. Karandlaje, who represents the Udupi-Chikkamagaluru Lok Sabha constituency, said she’s only taking up the long-pending demands of people from her region and has no vested interest in the conflict.

MPs from Karnataka held a meeting with Union Minister For Railways Sri @AshwiniVaishnaw Ji.

Highlighted the various railway related demands & issues of Udupi-Chikmagalur.

The Hon’ble Railway Minister assured of positive action about all the proposals.#SKinConstituency pic.twitter.com/wBAVYdqZn6

— Shobha Karandlaje (@ShobhaBJP) August 4, 2021

Engineering marvel

KRCL, a joint venture between Indian Railways and four state governments, is bound by the Sahyadri hills on the east and the Arabian Sea on the west. Its railway project is an engineering feat with 760 km of broad gauge rail line involving 92 tunnels and 2,000 bridges.

The corporation was established in 1990 by George Fernandes, the then railway minister who was a native of Mangaluru. KRCL provided the key link between India’s commercial capital, Mumbai, and Mangaluru.

The corporation has equity participation by the Ministry of Railways (51%), Maharashtra (22%), Karnataka (15%), Kerala (6%) and Goa (6%). Though the railway line does not enter Kerala, the government was convinced that it would benefit the economy and the people of Kerala and hence made it a shareholder.

Metroman’s contention

Metroman Sreedharan, who was the founding chairman of KRCL, said that as IR initially was not able to fund such a huge project, the joint venture was conceived as a novel method where states were roped in to contribute funds.

Merging it with IR would take away the states’ control, he pointed out, adding that technically, too, it’s not possible until all the debts are cleared by the corporation.

“If a state, which is a stakeholder, is feeling neglected, it’s better if they take it up with the corporation and sort it out and persuade them to put in more trains,” Sreedharan said. “But if it’s taken over by Indian Railways, it would be very difficult (to seek newer trains).”

Years ago, Sreedharan had proposed to merge the Mangaluru Central and NMPT (New Mangalore Port Trust) routes with Konkan Railway. It’s currently under Southern Railway.

KRCL received a total equity infusion of ₹3,100 million in FY18 and FY19, and ₹1,960 million in FY20 from the Ministry of Railways and state governments. The total outstanding debt (including bank loans) stood at ₹25,783.5 million as of March 31, 2021.

Debt trouble

The shareholder agreement says that a merger can take place only if all the debts are retired. So, IR cannot take control of KRCL unless it absorbs all its debt. In the current situation, where the Centre and state governments are at loggerheads on a range of financial issues, it’s unlikely that the Centre would agree to such a proposal.

Eranna Kadadi, a Rajya Sabha MP from Belagavi, who’s shown keen interest to develop the rail network in the state, said a KRCL-IR merger would affect the federalism currently in place. He would take it up in Parliament to see how to strengthen the corporation so that it can compete with others, he said.

“I don’t know under what circumstance she (Karandlaje) has asked for a merger. It certainly needs to be discussed and I personally feel it’s better not to merge as states have better control being a stakeholder,” he pointed out.