Lok Sabha Question No. 2768 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-07-10
Subject: Private Catering Services
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Ganesan Selvam, Mohanbhai Kalyanji Kundariya

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.2768

TO BE ANSWERED ON 10.07.2019

## PRIVATE CATERING SERVICES

2768. SHRI SELVAM. G.:

SHRI MOHANBHAI KALYANJI KUNDARIYA:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  IRCTC  has  given  catering  services  to  private  contractors and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) the details of the eligibility criteria for getting contracts from IRCTC along with the number of private catering units presently operating;
- (c) the  number  of  complaints  received  by  the  Railways  against  private catering  companies  for  taking  more  than  the  prescribed  price  and violating the guidelines during the last three years;
- (d) whether any inquiry is being conducted against such catering firms and if so, the details thereof along with the names of such companies against which inquiry is being conducted;
- (e) whether some catering agencies are not serving eatables on terms of approved contract and if so, the details thereof along with the details of the action taken against such agencies; and
- (f) whether the Government has taken any steps to provide quality food through IRCTC in all its trains and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF RAILWAYS AND COMMERCE & INDUSTRY

## (SHRI PIYUSH GOYAL)

- (a)  &  (b):  Yes,  Sir.  Indian  Railways  Catering  and  Tourism  Corporation Limited  (IRCTC)  has  engaged  private  contractors  to  operate  pantry  car contracts of 413 pairs of trains. In addition, Private Contractors have also been engaged to provide catering services through Train Side Vending in trains without pantry cars and through Static Units at stations.

For  provision  of  e-catering  services,  reputed  service  providers  are  also empanelled by IRCTC.

Details  of  all  tenders  of  IRCTC  including  the  eligibility  criteria  are available on IRCTC's website http://www.irctc.com/tenders\_En.jsp.

(c) to (e): The number of complaints received by the Railways against private catering  companies  for  taking  more  than  the  prescribed  price  and  violating the guidelines during the last three years are appended.

Since the identity of the catering firms which have indulged in cases of overcharging and other deficiencies in service are clearly known, appropriate penal action is taken, as required, against them without always conducting an enquiry. During 2018-19, out of the total number of 9183 complaints of various deficiencies  in  service,  3487  complaints  were  related  to  overcharging  on which  appropriate  penal  actions  such  as  imposition  of  monetary  fines, warning, actions under Disciplinary &Appeal Rules, etc. have been taken. The names of the catering firms penalised for deficiency in service will be laid on the Table of the House.

In  case  any  instance  of  non-compliance  of  terms  and  conditions  of contract  is  reported  or  noticed,  strict  action  is  taken  against  the  service providers  for  deficiency  in  service.  Details  of  such  complaints  and  action taken can be seen in the appendix.

(f):  To provide quality food to passengers, a new Catering Policy has been issued  on  27 th   February  2017  vide  which  Indian  Railway  Catering  and Tourism  Corporation  Limited  (IRCTC)  has  been  mandated  to  carry  out unbundling  of  catering  services  by  creating  a  distinction  between  food preparation and food distribution on trains.

For this purpose, meals for trains are to be sourced from kitchens owned, operated and managed by IRCTC. Various  steps taken to provide quality food to passengers are as follows:

- I. In order to upgrade quality of food preparation, IRCTC has upgraded 46  Kitchen  Units  in  the  last  two  years.    CCTV  cameras  have  been installed in 38 Base Kitchens for monitoring purposes and web-based live streaming facility is being extended to these kitchens.
- II. Food  Safety  Supervisors  have  been  deployed  at  Base  Kitchens  to monitor food safety and hygienic practices.
- III. To  upgrade  the  quality  of  meals  to  be  served  to  the  passengers, IRCTC is rationalising the menus.
- IV. Branded  food  providers  have  been  roped  in  to  provide  e-catering services in trains.
- V. System  of  printing  barcode  and  other  details  like  name  of  kitchen, date of packaging etc. on food packets has been initiated.
- VI. Regular and surprise inspections are conducted by Railway officials including Food Safety Officers.
- VII. Examination of quality of food, hygiene and cleanliness in Pantry Cars and Base Kitchens through Third Party Audits.
- VIII. Monitoring  and  supervision  of  catering  service  through  operation  of centralized Catering Service Monitoring Cell (CSMC) toll free number 1800-111-321, Operation of All India Helpline No. 138, Twitter handle, CPGRAMS, E-Mail and SMS based complaints redressal.

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APPENDIX REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (c) TO (e) OF UNSTARRED QUESTION  NO.  2768  BY  SHRI  SELVAM.  G.  AND  SHRI  MOHANBHAI KALYANJI KUNDARIYA TO BE ANSWERED IN LOK SABHA ON 10.07.2019 REGARDING PRIVATE CATERING SERVICES

(c)  to  (e):  The  number  of  complaints  received  against  private  catering companies  for  taking  more  than  the  prescribed  price  and  violating  the guidelines during the last three years along with the action taken in this regard.

|                                       |             | Action Taken   | Action Taken                   | Action Taken   | Action Taken   | Action Taken     | Action Taken   | Action Taken   | Action Taken   | Action Taken   |
|---------------------------------------|-------------|----------------|--------------------------------|----------------|----------------|------------------|----------------|----------------|----------------|----------------|
| Period                                | Total       | Fined          | Fined                          |                | Termination    | Suitably Advised | Substantiated  | D & AR Action  | Any Other      | Total          |
| Head                                  | Compla ints | No. of Cases   | Amount of Fine imposed (In ₹ ) | Warned         |                |                  | Not            |                |                |                |
| Over Charging                         | 3487        | 2203           | 1,34,88,090                    | 658            | 0              | 175              | 240            | 11             | 200            | 3487           |
| Quantity                              | 206         | 50             | 2,99,610                       | 92             | 0              | 40               | 14             | 0              | 10             | 206            |
| 2018-19 Violation of other Guidelines | 5490        | 1051           | 79,12,190                      | 2187           | 0              | 1044             | 465            | 2              | 741            | 5490           |
| Total                                 | 9183        | 3304           | 2,16,99,890                    | 2937           | 0              | 1259             | 719            | 13             | 951            | 9183           |
| Over Charging                         | 4185        | 2436           | 3,66,73,257                    | 664            | 4              | 229              | 311            | 7              | 534            | 4185           |
| Quantity                              | 234         | 59             | 5,99,250                       | 73             | 0              | 34               | 15             | 0              | 53             | 234            |
| 2017-18 Violation of other Guidelines | 5498        | 1379           | 1,15,46,959                    | 1247           | 12             | 1098             | 442            | 3              | 1317           | 5498           |
| Total                                 | 9917        | 3874           | 4,88,19,466                    | 1984           | 16             | 1361             | 768            | 10             | 1904           | 9917           |
| Over Charging                         | 4156        | 2651           | 2,93,47,428                    | 751            | 1              | 141              | 265            | 4              | 343            | 4156           |
| Quantity                              | 243         | 111            | 7,24,750                       | 64             | 0              | 26               | 28             | 0              | 14             | 243            |
| 2016-17 Violation of other Guidelines | 6038        | 2050           | 1,72,67,700                    | 2008           | 2              | 726              | 411            | 20             | 821            | 6038           |
| Total                                 | 10437       | 4812           | 4,73,39,878                    | 2823           | 3              | 893              | 704            | 24             |                | 117810437      |

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