Railway Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda, who will present the first Railway Budget of the new BJP-led NDA Government in July, on Sunday said that the responsibility made him anxious.
“It (Railway Ministry) is a special and big responsibility. I am anxious, but I am also confident of meeting challenges. I promise to provide corruption-free and non-partisan governance,” said Mr. Sadananda Gowda after being felicitated by Nagasampada, a residents’ organisation in ITI Layout off New BEL Road here. Tracing his political career, the Minister said that he had never misused opportunities that came his way.
Mr. Sadananda Gowda also recalled his conversation with Pejawar Math seer, Sri Visvesha Tirtha Swamiji, during which he had expressed his desire to become a Minister in the Narendra Modi-led Government. “Though the Swamiji had said that he would talk about me to Mr. Modi, he had also said that he would refrain from recommending my name for the ministership,” he recollected.
Railway budget
He later told presspersons that the budget preparation was under way and would be completed in the next 10 days. “I will place the budget in the first or the second week of July,” he said and added that the government is looking at public-private partnerships and foreign direct investments. “Nearly Rs. 5 lakh crore worth of railway projects are under way and the Government is not in a position to fund them,” he said. The priority, Mr. Sadananda Gowda said, was to mobilise resources and focus on delivery. “It is not only important to start a project, but also to complete it,” he added.
