Railway rejects Sonia Gandhi's charges on Rae Bareli coach factory, says corporatisation is not privatisation

A Railway official has termed Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) chief Sonia Gandhi incorrect on her explanation of 'corporatisation is the first move towards privatisation' while opposing the privatisation of Rae Bareli's Modern Coach Factory (MCF) in Lok Sabha on Tuesday, sources said.  

Terming Sonia Gandhi incorrect, a railway official said that making a PSU is not privatisation. She (Sonia Gandhi) should stop shedding crocodile tears. 

In Lok Sabha, Sonia Gandhi had said that the privatisation of the modern coach factory will leave several workers unemployed. It is against one of the objectives of why the plant was set up during the UPA's rule.

Sonia Gandhi accused the government of selling the country's assets to private players at a throwaway price. She said the government has decided to corporatise six railway production units and the Modern Coach Factory is one of them.

"Those who don't understand the real meaning of corporatisation ... it is actually the first step towards privatisation. They are selling the country's assets to a handful of private players at a throwaway price. This will leave thousands unemployed," Gandhi said.

However, a railway official rejected Sonia Gandhi's theory and said corporatisation is not privatisation. 

What railways means by corporatisation?

Make a government PSU "Indian Railway Rolling Stock Company" under the Ministry of Railways, and shift the Production units including Modern Coach Factory (MCF), Raebareli to that. This means they will remain under government control but will be better managed as these production units will become fully functional PSUs. This will help drive technology partnership and modernisation.

PSUs are government controlled units but function in a more autonomous and efficient manner. They give better output and their employees have better facilities than in government. 

Railways will consult with unions and ensure no harm comes to employees. It will also ensure the best utilisation of taxpayer funds. 

The railway official said that MCF Raebareli is a live example of how Congress makes empty promises and misleads the public. 

The Congress-led UPA Government had promised to set up a coach factory in Raebareli. The Foundation Stone of Modern Coach Factory (MCF), Raebareli was laid in February 2007 but the construction began only in May 2010.

The factory was slated to produce 1,000 coaches. However, it was far from achieving its full potential. Between 2011-14, it only did minor work on some coaches brought from Kapurthala. Only 375 coaches were "refurbished" between 2011 to 2014 whereas it should have been fully manufacturing coaches. As PM Modi had said, "the factory only does work of tightening screws and painting coaches."

Modern Coach Factory after 2014

Since 2014, the unit has been a priority area. In July 2014, MCF was declared a Production Unit of Indian Railways. Within a month it started production of fully formed coaches. Since then it has doubled production almost every year.

140 coaches in 2014-15, 285 in 2015-16, 576 in 2016-17, 711 in 2017-18. It is expected to produce 1,425 coaches in 2018-19. The target for this year is 2,158 coaches.

MCF has boosted the local economy of Raebareli. It has created employment opportunities for local youth and invigorated industries in vicinity. Goods worth Rs 667 crore were procured from MSMEs in 2018-19. Purchase from local units in Raebareli was less than Rs 1 crore in 2013-14, it has now become Rs. 124 crore in 2018-19.

Further, training centers have been developed to provide skill development opportunities to local youth.

(With inputs from PTI)