FM rejects Railways plea for Rs 32,000 cr: Reports

Finance Ministry has said that it has rejected the request of Railways for Rs 32,000 cr as revenue grant, sought to tide over the impending impact of the 7th Pay Commission recommendations on the public transporter. Commenting on the issue, a senior Railway Official told the media, “Finance Ministry has categorically rejected the Rs 32,000 cr demand expressing its inability to provide the grant, and has asked the public transporter to raise its own resources to manage the finance.” As per reports, Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu had written a letter to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley seeking Rs 32,000 crore as grant from the exchequer's for implementation of the Commission recommendations and had cited the difficult financial position that the railways was passing through. According to the 7th Pay Commission report, the annual financial impact on Railways will be approximately Rs 28,450 crore in addition to the normal growth which will require to be built into the Railway Budget 2016-17.