Capacity building of Bangladesh Railways

The reported move to downsize the development budget of Bangladesh Railways (BR) is disheartening, particularly at a time when revamping this sector should have been a priority. Slow project execution is stated to be the prime reason for downscaling the development budget of the railway ministry by nearly Tk 9.25 billion, under the revised budget of the current fiscal (2014-15). Recognising the ailing condition of infrastructure and services of the railways, the government in its past tenure had initiated enhanced public investment followed by efforts in the current term to re-energise this most vital mode of transportation. Results, however, have not turned the way they were steered.

It is well known that for around a decade, if not more, the railways have not experienced any improvement in terms of development works, not to mention any major infrastructure projects to extend the country's rail network. However, since the separate railways ministry came into being, there have been stray efforts to break the deep slumber this sector has been in. Utter neglect has rendered the railway what it is today -- no longer able to respond to makeshift initiatives to keep it going. This, understandably, was the reason why the government embarked on capital funding.

Under this year's original Annual Development Programme (ADP), the railway is the fifth largest development budget holder -- an indication of the priority the sector received in view of its importance and past neglect by successive governments. But the sad story is that the railway  was able to spend only 14 per cent in the first half (July-December) of the current FY2015 out of its total Tk 4315.86 billion outlay in the original ADP. Under the current development budget, the government allocated Tk 45.26 billion for implementing 41 development projects. Out of this total outlay, Tk 25.57 billion was allocated by the government from its own coffer and the rest -- Tk 19.69 billion -- from project aid from external sources. Following the cut, the revised ADP, now reported to be likely sized at Tk 36 billion, is still considered challenging for implementation by insiders. However, things are yet to be finalised by the Planning Commission, which, one strongly feels, should look closely into the reasons for poor project execution.

 It is true that in the wake of the serious neglect to this sector in the past, the government was generous enough to allocate a record high amount of fund in the form of investment to the tune of Tk 149 billion in the last five years. This amount of fund is reportedly higher than the total public investment in the railway sector in the past decade. Failure to neither improve services nor execute specific projects might be indicative of some serious lacunae embedded in the railway administration. Experts are of the view that while large fund allocation by the government reflects its sincere intent to see improvements in the railways, this must also be reinforced by strengthened capacity to execute projects. Blaming the railway ministry squarely for inefficiency and lacklustre moves should not suffice. The government must see to it that in the remainder of the current fiscal, bottlenecks are removed towards execution of the projects so that the BR earns the confidence of not only its own management but is also able to inspire the people to have trust in its services.