Mamata Banerjee?s Rail Budget 2009-10 was passed by the Lok Sabha on Thursday amidst heated comments from members of both the Houses over the priority given to West Bengal, even as Banerjee dismissed the charges and announced setting up an expert group headed by Ficci secretary general Amit Mitra to prepare a business plan for the improvement of railways.

Apart from Mitra, the expert group is likely to have top Rail Bhawan officials including member (traffic) and member (engineering) of the railway board as well as representatives from chambers of commerce and sectoral experts. The panel, which will report to Banerjee directly, will provide suggestions to carry forward the blueprint laid down in the Rail Budget.

?The minister for railways has given her vision in the Budget with a whole range of activities. We will use that as a template and from that draw the terms of reference in consultation with her,? Mitra told FE.

The expert group is expected to focus on areas like public private partnerships, funding plans for infrastructure projects, including the four new freight corridors announced in the Budget, commercial utilisation of the railways? land bank as well as suggest ways for improving passenger amenities.

The Rail Budget was passed by voice vote after suspension of a rule which provides for referring of Demand for Grants and Appropriation Bills to the Standing Committees. The same practice will be followed for the Union Budget 2009-10, debate on which was initiated on Thursday in the Lok Sabha. The UPA is keen that the Budgets for the year are passed before July 31, as the demand for grants passed along with the interim Budget had made provisions only for the first four months of the fiscal.

Meanwhile, the recent one-upmanship between Banerjee and her predecessor Lalu Prasad also gained momentum during the debate on the Rail Budget in Lok Sabha with her being accused of favouring West Bengal. In response, the minister announced a slew of fresh measures to improve passenger facilities and safety.

Banerjee announced the introduction of two more non-stop ?Duranto? (fast) trains from Delhi to Secunderabad and Delhi to Nagpur, in addition to 12 such trains already announced in the Rail Budget. She said that two of the 14 trains would be started within a month.

Monitoring committees, headed by senior officials of Railway Board, would also be set up to keep tabs on train punctuality, amenities and cleanliness, she promised and said the White Paper on railway finances would be unveiled as soon as possible.

Banerjee also advocated greater utilisation of vacant land banks of the railways. ?Our department is preparing the details and will finish it in 10 days. But we do have more than 3,00,000 acre,? she said. ?We cannot sell the land. But what is the problem in its commercial utilisation?? she queried and said medical and nursing colleges, hospitals and other institutes of higher education can be set up on them.

Similar charges of making West Bengal her priority in the Budget were also leveled at Benerjee in the Rajya Sabha. The minister, in her reply to the debate on the Rail Budget in the Upper House, pointed out that new trains would connect several states and cities rather than limiting benefits to just one state.

The Railways? Appropriation Bill 2009-10 however is yet to get the Rajya Sabha?s approval as despite a three day debate on it, the bill was not on the not mentioned on the list of business for the day. An official said it would have to be listed separately for voting.