Lok Sabha Question No. 3780 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-12-11
Subject: Clean Drinking Water
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Su Thirunavukkarasar

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3780 TO BE ANSWERED ON 11.12.2019

## CLEAN DRINKING WATER

3780. SHRI THIRUNAVUKKARASAR SU:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

(a) the steps taken by the Government to provide clean drinking water in  stations  as  well  as  in  trains  and  also  provide  quality  food  and catering materials during train journeys; and (b)  the  effective  steps  taken  by  the  Government  to  check  and  verify whether the food and water supplied in railway stations and in trains are good and hygienic?

ANSWER MINISTER OF RAILWAYS AND COMMERCE & INDUSTRY (SHRI PIYUSH GOYAL)

(a) and (b):  A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

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STATEMENT  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PARTS  (a)  AND  (b)  OF UNSTARRED  QUESTION  NO.  3780  BY  SHRI  THIRUNAVUKKARASAR  SU TO  BE  ANSWERED  IN  LOK  SABHA  ON  11.12.2019  REGARDING  CLEAN DRINKING WATER (a) &  (b): The  steps  taken  by  Railways  to  provide  clean  drinking  water and  quality  food  and  catering  material  at  stations  and  in  trains  are  as follows:i. For ensuring supply of clean drinking water at stations as well as in trains, Ministry of Railways has issued instructions to  Zonal Railways to provide  clean  drinking  water  at  railway  premises  by  adopting  'Uniform Drinking Water Quality Monitoring Protocol' issued by Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation in February' 2013.  Drinking water supplied to the railway  passengers  at  stations  through  drinking  water  taps  is  suitably treated, as per requirement, before the exit point of supply. Regular tests are  conducted  to  ensure  its  quality.  Besides  this,  sale  of  Rail  Neer (Packaged Drinking Water) has been made mandatory in all trains running with pantry cars and all static catering units at 312 stations. In case of non-mandatory units (trains/stations), Packaged Drinking Water of other approved brands is permitted for sale. Presently, approximately 9.5 lakh litres  of  Rail  Neer  (Packaged  Drinking  Water)  is  being  supplied  to passengers  on  Indian  Railways  per  day  from  11  operational  plants.  In addition  to  above,  1962  Water  Vending  Machines  (WVMs)  have  been installed at 685 Railway stations across the country to provide drinking water of prescribed standards at affordable rates. ii. Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Limited (IRCTC) has installed CCTV (Closed Circuit Television) cameras in the kitchens under its management. Live streaming is available in these kitchens on IRCTC's website  and  Rail-Drishti  portal  of  Railways  (https://www.raildrishti.in). This  enables  close  and  live  monitoring  of  the  activities  in  the  kitchens

both by officials and the public. iii. IRCTC has enabled Quick Response (QR) codes to be pasted on food casseroles at 27 Kitchens. iv. IRCTC  has  upgraded  46  existing  Kitchen  Units  during  the  last  02 years. v. Provision  of  E-Catering  services  in  trains  through  branded  players such as Dominoes, etc is being progressively increased. vi. Certification  from  Designated  Food  Safety  Officers  of  each  Kitchen Unit has been made mandatory. vii. Each train provided with pantry car is manned by IRCTC's supervisors who  monitor  services  and  take  feedback  from  passengers  and  take appropriate  corrective  action.  In  premium  trains,  catering  supervisors have been provided with tablets for obtaining feedback from passengers. viii. Food samples are randomly collected by Joint Food Safety Commissioners  /Food  Safety  Officers/Supervisors  and  are  sent  to  the nominated accredited Laboratories under Food Safety & Standard Act for analysis and testing. ix. Food  Safety  Supervisors  of  IRCTC  have  been  deployed  at  Kitchen Units.

x. Third Party Audits are mandated in the Catering Policy and are being carried  out  by  NABCB  (National  Accreditation  Board  for  Certification Bodies) accredited agencies. xi. Customer  satisfaction  surveys  are  conducted  through  Third  Party Agencies. xii. Regular and surprise inspections are conducted by Railway officials including  Food  Safety  Officers.  Penalty  is  being  imposed  in  cases  of unsatisfactory food samples and prosecutions are being launched as per Food Safety & Standard Rule 2011. xiii. A  robust  system  for  passenger  feedback  and  complaints  exists  for redressal through dedicated centralized Catering Service Monitoring Cell (CSMC)  toll  free  number  1800-111-321,  Rail  Madad,  Twitter  handle,

CPGRAMS, E-Mail and SMS based complaints.

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