A White Paper on the functioning of Railways during the last five years presented in Parliament today says that performance in traffic growth during this period was below par . It also says that the contribution of railway industry to the national GDP remained stagnant at 1.18 per cent during these five yeas when Lalu Prasad was the Railway Minister . <br/><br/>The White Paper said that the accumulated surplus of nearly 89 thousand crore rupees during the five years would come down to over 39 thousand 400 crore rupees if payment of arrears, because of sixth pay commission and appropriation to Depreciation Reserve is taken as part of the working expenses .The paper also highlights the inadequacies and weaknesses in the existing accounting system , which shows inflated surplus. <br/><br/>The status paper says that while freight earnings grew by 14.11 percent, it was mainly due to the boom in the economy adding that freight rate was substantially increased during the period, including 44 per cent increase for food grains and 35 per cent increase for fertilizers. It said that losses in passenger operation grew steadily and was almost 14,000 crore rupees in 2008-09.<br/><br/>Railway Minister Ms Mamta Banerjee today said that the White paper presented in Parliament today is just a status report. Talking to reporters outside Parliament, the Minister said that this is not the first time that a white paper has come out. She said that financial turn around of the Railways has been the topic of discussion and debate and an attempt has been made to take dispassionate look at the issue in the white paper. She said the main aim is to take the Railways to a greater height.<br/><br/>Stating that the Indian Railway has slipped to fourth position from the 2nd rank in the world, she said the government wants to make it the best in the world. The Minister said the downfall is mainly due to financial shortcomings. Stating that fares can not provide for the expenses alone, Ms Banerjee said that Railway is planning for commercial utilization of its land to raise revenue.<br/><br/>Outlining the vision for the railways, she said that the dedicated freight corridor is one of the priorities. She said increasing the reach to remote areas and making the railways accident free in 10 years, are also high on the agenda.<br/><br/>The Minister said that though Railway will expand its infrastructure, no forced land acquisition will be done by the department. Saying that Railways are the greenest option for future mass transport, Ms Banerjee said tree plantation will be largely undertaken along the tracks and for fencing. Ms Banerjee said that the Ministry is dedicated for providing highest quality service without hike in fares and a special cleanliness drive will be undertaken during next three months.<br/><br/>The former Railway Minister Lalu Prasad has however dismissed the White Paper as black paper and no paper at all. He claimed that his record profit was correct and his tenure was the best for the railways.