The fate of Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) project still hangs in the balance as it is no more in the priority list of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) due to unresolved issue of resettlement of encroachers. This was stated by Chairman/Secretary Pakistan Railways Aftab Akbar, while briefing the Senate Standing Committee on Railways, which met with Mir Mohammad Ali Rind in the chair here on Thursday.
Aftab Akbar informed the committee that JICA has tied the loan for the KCR project with the resettlement of encroachers and it would not provide loans for the project until the issue was resolved. The government has also completed several studies regarding the project but JICA is currently on back foot, Aftab Akbar added.
He further said that the federal and Sindh governments are on the same page and accepted 16 demands of JICA out of 17, however the later is insisting on providing plots/homes to the encroachers who occupied Railways lands while the government is ready to give compensation in shape of cash. The Governments are of the view that by implementing the JICA model a new precedent would be set which would create problems in the whole country.
The Chairman Railways further said that government has taken up the issue with JICA administration and the later was supposed to come to Pakistan last week however due to security concerns the meeting was cancelled and the meeting may take place in Dubai or in Japan.
The committee expressed concerns over the low allocation for the KCR project in the budget 2014-15, saying that it seems that the project is no more on government priority. The body further recommended to resolve the issue as soon as possible and should allocate more funds for the project, which is important to cater to about 50 percent traffic issues in Karachi.
The chairman further said that Railways has earned Rs 23.6 billion against the government target of Rs 21.6 billion in the current fiscal year which would cross the figure of Rs 24 billion by the end of current fiscal year. Railways earned Rs 18 billion in last financial year while the government set Rs 21.6 billion for the current financial year however Railways set a target of Rs 24 billion to be earned in the current financial year.
The committee recommended shifting focus from passengers' trains to freight trains, besides providing other facilities to passengers which would help earn more revenue for Railways. The committee was informed that currently 100 passengers' trains were operating against 230 in last year which shows that passengers' trains have been capped.
The committee was further informed that currently Railways have 423 locomotives where 200 are in services. Railways received 23 out of the total 58 locomotives from a consortium led by China where 14 locomotives have been added to the system after completion of trail. These engines have covered about 0.4 million km where 18 faults were surfaced which shows a satisfactory performance. Chairman Railways further said that in collaboration with Rangers and FC security would be upgraded at all Railways stations and tracks to avoid untoward incidents. The committee also recommended taking help from Pakistan Army in training Railways police to meet the security challenges.
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