Now Reading: CAG flags Rs 3,400 crore railway safety fund diverted
-
01
CAG flags Rs 3,400 crore railway safety fund diverted
A CAG audit has found that Indian Railways diverted Rs 3,400 crore from the Rashtriya Rail Sanraksha Kosh (RRSK), a safety fund, to staff welfare and computerisation, reducing resources for critical safety…
The Story in Brief
A CAG audit has found that Indian Railways diverted Rs 3,400 crore from the Rashtriya Rail Sanraksha Kosh (RRSK), a safety fund, to staff welfare and computerisation, reducing resources for critical safety work. The fund was envisaged at Rs 1,27,000 crore for 2017-25, but Railways contributed only 21.3 per cent of targeted internal resources, putting in Rs 5,324.62 crore against a target of Rs 25,000 crore.
More than 20,000 safety works remain incomplete, leaving operations exposed to risks. Separately, Railways spent Rs 22,699 crore from gross budgetary support to repay lease charges to IRFC, a practice the CAG called unhealthy. Unsanctioned expenditure doubled to Rs 19,458 crore in FY25.
The Indian Opinion
The CAG's findings pit safety against optics: Railways diverted Rs 3,400 crore meant for RRSK to staff welfare and computerisation, yet blames lack of funds for stalled projects. The popular narrative blames bureaucrats, but the real question is why ministries prioritise visible comforts over invisible safety. Watch how much of the Rs 1,27,000 crore RRSK corpus is actually spent on track renewal in FY26, that number will settle the argument.
Sources (2): businesstoday.in, rediff.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above.
