Following PM Modi’s Idea, 1,500 Railway Stations To Sport Benches Paid For By Local MPs

The Piyush Goyal-led Ministry of Railways is looking to complete the largest ever procurement of public furniture across the country by getting Members of Parliament (MPs) to fund at least one lakh stainless steel benches across 1,500 railway stations across the country, reports The Indian Express. The idea for this procurement to make better use of funds under the MP Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS) has come in from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) will monitor the progress of the entire project.

While the cost of stainless steel bench can be anywhere between Rs 3,000 to Rs 12,000, the railways plans to procure either four-seater benches or ten-seater circular ones. Each bench will carry the name of the MP funding it, listing them as a donor.

Along with this, Indian Railways also plans for a “1+1” scheme, wherein for every bench sponsored by an MP, another bench will be set up by the Railways and will list the MP’s name as a benefactor. So far Rs 14 crore has been collected for the benches which is being called in through a single tender from Delhi to maintain uniformity rather than getting individual zones and divisions to do it. The planned completion date is March 2019.

Reports say that Modi himself has donated Rs 40 lakh for 900 benches in his constituency of Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh while Minister for External Affairs Sushma Swaraj has given Rs 25 lakh for benches in Vidhisha, Madhya Pradesh. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has given money for 1,940 benches in Gujarat which he represents in the Rajya Sabha.

President of the Indian National Congress and MP from Amethi Rahul Gandhi – while reportedly agreeing to the idea – has not released any money from his MPLADS funds, but procured 68 benches for his constituency while Sudip Bandyopadhyay of the Trinamool Congress has spent Rs 20 lakh for Kolkata Uttar.