After SCS, AP now has to give up railway zone hopes

​New Delhi: After foregoing the Special Category Status, it is time for AP to give up its hopes on a separate railway zone.

Going by the indications given by the top Railway sources "a railway zone on its own does not help the State in any way. It neither does contribute to the economic activity nor does it help in fetching jobs additionally.

Even in case of revenues generated by the zone, all of it goes to the central pool. It does not benefit job-wise too as the recruitment is all centralised.

The demand is more of a political nature and hence has to be settled politically and politically alone". This categorical assertion came on Friday once again from the Railway sources.

Talking to The Hans India, the sources reiterated that though the demand for separate Railway zone has been there for long, there was little to suggest that such a creation of a new zone would help the State of Andhra Pradesh in anyway.

"Does Lucknow have a railway zone of its own? It is the capital of the most populous State of the country and the biggest.

No. The Railways itself is moving towards greater reforms. The concept of a Zone could lose its importance in future. It could be more division-centric. A nodal point could be a division and not a zone.

Hence, the argument in favour of a new zone could be made at a political level, but, it carries little weight," the sources said.

They point out that according to Bibek Debroy Committee that had gone into reforms and restructuring of Indian Railways had made significant recommendations of which several have already been put in place.

Coming to decentralisation, the Report was categorical in stating that though the decentralisation does not include "the GM level", it is a must that it should percolate down to the DRM level (Division Railway Manager) or Station Superintendent.

Sources point out that as per the report Finance would completely come under the control of the DRMs and the ADRMs should be an explicit part of the administrative chain.

Also, these sources point out that the committee also was in favour of retaining a part of the revenue earnings at the division levels too. "Now going by the recommendations, you will know that the Zone itself might lose its importance in future.

It is the Division that could be important and hence, a demand for a new zone is almost irrelevant," they added.

However, the sources said a committee with an executive director level official was constituted to interact with all the stake holders involved in it and it was yet to submit its report. "Again, we say it is a political decision and got nothing do with us".