Next Railways Budget may not feature new projects

Burdened with Rs 2.5 lakh crore of projects stuck due to paucity of funds and other rea­sons, the Indian Railways plans to give itself a 'plan holiday' in announcing new projects in 2012-13. Policymakers at the helm of the national transporter feel the break would help them clear the backlog of over 200 projects, mostly for laying new rail lines and doubling tracks, but also including new manu­facturing units for wagons and wheels. The Railways has been atte­mpting a conscious shift from funding projects from its own resources for fresh capital inv­estment by embracing the pub­lic private partnership (PPP) route. But it would take a cou­ple of years for PPP to assume a major role in its financing pla­ns, while most pending projects will have to be implemented by dipping into the Railways'own revenue.