Mid-Day ; Vinod Kumar Menon, Sanjeev Devasia ; 2010-09-07 : Mumbai ;
Of this, Rs 16 lakh was spent on foreign travel in 2007 alone to learn about 'commercial land development', reveals RTI
For commercial development of railway land and airspace in India, do you need to visit foreign countries? Yes, if you are an officer of the Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation (MRVC).
Through details obtained under RTI Act, it has come to light that between 2007 and 2009, the MRVC incurred overall expenses to the tune of Rs 97 lakh on foreign trips.
The MRVC spent over Rs 16 lakh in 2007 alone to facilitate the visit of its officers, including its managing director, to several foreign countries ostensibly to carry out a technical study for commercial development of railway land and airspace in Mumbai.
Now nobody knows how the foreign tours could help MRVC learn how to commercially develop railway land in the country, especially when the state and central governments have successfully exploited and commercially developed vacant lands across the country.
This does not end here. The commercial land available presently with the railways in Mumbai is at Bandra and the responsibility for its development is no longer with the MRVC; instead it has been handed over to the Rail Land Development Authority (RLDA). While the MRVC has shaken off the inertia it showed right after its formation, in carrying out railway projects specifically focused on Mumbai, the organisation still is a place where almost every officer has the privilege of going on foreign trips for the flimsiest of reasons.
MiD DAY had reported in July 2007 about the foreign tours made by MRVC officers, even before a single project had taken off in the city. Almost three years later, the RTI documents in the possession of MiD DAY reveal that the MRVC spent Rs 16,23,328 to facilitate globetrotting for officials to countries like the UK, Germany, Holland, Japan, Singapore, and Hong Kong in May and June, 2007. The reason was to carry out a technical study for commercial development of land and airspace in Mumbai.
OFFICERS' FOREIGN TRIPS
The RTI query revealed that the following officers visited foreign countries in May 2007, apparently to carry out a technical study for commercial development of railway land and airspace:
- PC Sehgal, Managing Director, made a trip to UK, Germany, and Holland; Expenses: Rs 5,33,411
- Atul Mohan, FA and CAO, made a trip to UK, Germany, and Holland; Expenses: Rs 3,96,152
- Vishnu Kumar, Director, Projects, made a trip to Japan, Hongkong, and Singapore; Expenses: Rs 3,72,183.
- Sanjay Mittal, Chief Engineer, travelled to Japan, Hong Kong, and Singapore; Expenses: Rs 3,21,582.
- P H Oke, travelled to Japan, Hong Kong, and Singapore; Expenses: Rs 1,68,275.
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