MRVC spends Rs 97 lakh in two years on foreign trips

Of this, Rs 16 lakh was spent on foreign travel in 2007 alone to learn about 'commercial land development', reveals RTI

Of this, Rs 16 lakh was spent on foreign travel in 2007 aloneu00a0to 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).

Study tour? The MRVC officers made trips to several foreign countries to carry out a technical study for commercial development of railway land and airspace in Mumbai. FILE PIC

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.u00a0

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:

>>u00a0PC Sehgal, Managing Director, made a trip to UK, Germany, and Holland; Expenses: Rs 5,33,411
>>u00a0 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.u00a0

The Other Side

MRVC Managing Director, PC Sehgal, said "The entire foreign trip was part of a World Bank-sponsored trip. It was an official visit whose aim was to understand mega railway projects abroad, where funding is arranged through commercial development of railway land near station limits. The purpose of the visit was nothing more than to gain knowledge. We (railway) officials had no clue about the feasibility of the project in connection with the 10 acres of Bandra railway land. It was only after the foreign tour that we got the idea of requesting the state government to increase the Floor Space Index (FSI) at Bandra from 2 to 4, and successfully managed it. The improvement will fetch us Rs 3,500 crore."u00a0 When asked if the trip helped in finding any practical solutions for railway problems in the city, Sehgal said, "The purpose of the trip was to gain knowledge so we could implement any such solutions. Abroad, emphasis is given to infrastructure and then to housing. But in our country, the priority is housing and then the government thinks about infrastructure."