Ram Vilas Paswan took over as India’s Railway Minister during an era of coalition governments. He took over the charge of the Railway Minister in the Government headed by H D Deve Gowda in June 1996.
Despite being at the helm for only about a couple of years, his decisions left a significant impact on Indian Railways (IR). Being a people’s leader from Bihar, Paswan, a seasoned parliamentarian, took several strategic decisions.
The most important of them was the creation of six new zones with headquarters at Allahabad, Jaipur, Bangalore, Hajipur, Jabalpur and Bhubaneshwar. [The headquarters at Bangalore was subsequently shifted to Hubli]
Another zone with headquarters at Bilaspur Madhya Pradesh (now in Chhattisgarh) added later after the local people agitated for the creation of a separate zone.
Paswan in his budget speech announced “our Government, keeping in view the administrative requirements and aspirations of people have decided to create additional zonal offices.”
For instance, there was a popular sentiment among the people of Bihar of being marginalized. Though four out of the then nine zones catered to the state, none of the headquarters was based in Bihar.
Paswan understood this and created these zones with the objective of decentralizing the organization and manage IR better.
New Lines
He mooted new lines in strategic locations such as Jammu and Kashmir and the North Eastern States to bring them into the mainstream. He recognized the fact that the construction of railway lines in these far flung and difficult terrains was the only solution towards the development of these regions.
He simultaneously pushed for gauge conversion of metre gauge /narrow gauge lines continuing the previous government’s policy of Project Uniguage.
Major projects such as the Bogibeel Bridge on the river Brahmaputra, Ganga Bridge at Patna were commenced when he was the rail minister.
He also ordered the survey of a line to re-link Nirmali and Bhaptiahi in North Bihar which included a bridge on the river Kosi. This bridge was finally completed last month.
IRCTC
He started the preliminary work for setting up Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC). This has now grown into a behemoth.
He also proposed to provide telephone facilities to passengers from moving trains in an era when there were no mobile phones. This was based on a successful trial of this facility on the Mumbai Rajdhani in association with Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited.
Ram Vilas Paswan could have done more had the United Front Government stayed in office longer. Unfortunately it was not to be. Even though Paswan was a Union Minister for several years in subsequent governments, he never became the railway minister again.
He breathed his last on Thursday October 9, 2020.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted “I am saddened beyond words. There is a void in our nation that will perhaps never be filled. Shri Ram Vilas Paswan Ji’s demise is a personal loss. I have lost a friend, valued colleague and someone who was extremely passionate to ensure every poor person leads a life of dignity.”
Ram Vilas Paswan will always be remembered for his immense contribution to IR.