Banerjee okay to railways land for IITs

September 29th, 2009 KOLKATA - Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee Tuesday stepped in to bail out some of the passengers stranded due to the Air India pilots' strike. She arranged for special trains on various routes and asked union Minister of State for Shipping Mukul Roy to run an additional service of the Shipping Corporation of India Wednesday to bring back the air passengers stranded in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

September 18th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee has said an external agency would probe allegations of graft during her predecessor's tenure. Lawmakers belonging to Bihar's Janata Dal (United) had alleged that that during the tenure of former Railways Minister Lalu Prasad, people were asked to cede land to the railways in exchange for jobs and contracts in the organisation.

September 16th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The railways ministry Wednesday said it would not resort to forceful acquisition of land for railway projects, and that it would review its land acquisition policy. "The ministry of railways has decided that there shall not be any forceful acquisition of land for railway projects," the ministry said in a statement.

September 14th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Railways have identified 64 stations around the country to be developed as "multi-function" stations, Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee said Monday. "The expert committee on railway land usage, chaired by Dr.

September 12th, 2009 KOLKATA - Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee Saturday said that her ministry has already begun an austerity drive and taken several cost-cutting measures to reduce additional expenditure. "I'd issued an order to cut all additional expenditure and it's already been implemented in the railways," Banerjee said while flagging off two new trains -- Sealdah-Ajmirsharif Express and Farakka-Nabadwip Express -- from Sealdah station here.

July 29th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee called upon the general managers of all the zones to be more active in ensuring the safety and security of the passengers round the clock and is visible to all. Banerjee was addressing the general managers of all the railway zones after inaugurating the two day National Conference of Railway General Managers here on Wednesday.

July 11th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Saturday said the country was awaiting the white paper promised by Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee on the railways' performance in the last five years. Banerjee told parliament July 3 that she would come out with a white paper on the actual performance of the railways in the past five years when Lalu Prasad headed the ministry.

July 10th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Despite the slowdown that has seen job cuts across sectors, the Indian Railways will fill 1.7 lakh vacant posts after reviewing the recruitment process, Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee said Friday. The Railway Recruitment Board (RRB) will review the hiring process and address regional aspirations and problems witnessed during recruitment in Maharashtra, Karnataka and Assam, Banerjee told the Rajya Sabha.

July 9th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee Thursday ruled out corporatisation of the country's railroad network but said the private sector's participation can be considered for commercial use of railway land for areas like healthcare and education institutions. "I'm always in favour of our employees.

July 7th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Tuesday asked Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee "not to make Indian Railways an East India Company and alleged that the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government has favoured West Bengal at the cost of many other states in the rail budget. "India is not (West) Bengal.

July 3rd, 2009 KOLKATA - Terming it a "mixed' railway budget, West Bengal's ruling Left Front chairman Biman Bose criticised the privatisation schemes introduced in the new budgetary plans by Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee Friday. "It's a mixed budget and the thrust is on more and more privatisation.

July 3rd, 2009 NEW DELHI - Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee Friday proposed several steps, including launch of a premium service for container movement with assured transit time, to improve the freight movement on railways. Presenting her ministry's budget for 2009-10 in the Lok Sabha, Banerjee said besides improving the freight movement of its regular cargo like coal, iron ore, cement, fertilisers and food grain, the railways will take measures to increase the share of new items like automobiles and fly ash.

July 3rd, 2009 NEW DELHI - Indian Railways will deploy women security personnel and increase their number in the proposed commando battalions, Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee said in the railways budget presented in parliament Friday. The women Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel will be deployed to ensure security of women passengers, particularly on routes where a large number of them travel alone regularly, Banerjee said while presenting the budget.

July 2nd, 2009 NEW DELHI - Amidst much speculation and expectations, Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee Thursday gave final touches to the rail budget, to be presented in parliament Friday. Shifting from the claims of high surplus by her predecessor Lalu Prasad, Banerjee has maintained from the day she assumed charge that her focus would be on improving passenger amenities and rationalisation of services such as Tatkal (instant ticketing) service.

June 4th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Union Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee said that Indian Railways' determined efforts will be to keep enhancing passenger amenities and comforts to a higher level, both in trains and on railway stations. In her message to the Railway personnel after assuming the charge of office of the Union Railway Minister, Banerjee urged all the railwaymen to provide 'service with smile'.