Lok Sabha Question No. 2612 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-12-04
Subject: Representations from MPs
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Sukanta Majumdar, Sangeeta Kumari Singh Deo, Raja Amareshwara Naik, Bhola Singh

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA

UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2612

TO BE ANSWERED ON 04.12.2019

## REPRESENTATIONS FROM MPs

2612. DR. SUKANTA MAJUMDAR:

SHRIMATI SANGEETA KUMARI SINGH DEO:

SHRI RAJA AMARESHWARA NAIK:

SHRI BHOLA SINGH:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether VIP references for release of Head Office (HO) quota to the Ministry of Railways/Railway zones are not accorded priority in recent times;
- (b)  if  so,  the  details  thereof  including  number  of  references  received and quota released during the last two years, zone-wise;
- (c)whether complaints/ representations from VIPs/Members of Parliament (MPs) have been regularly received against officials of MR Cell for deliberate and biased treatment of VIP  references  and  if  so,  the  details  thereof  and  the  action  taken thereon;
- (d)  whether  IRCTC  has  developed  dedicated  portal  for  online  railway reservation for MPs and if so, the details thereof;
- (e) whether the Ministry is planning to introduce the feature of online submission of VIP references for HO quota through IRCTC Portal and if so, the details thereof; and
- (f) other related steps and initiatives being taken by the Government?

## ANSWER

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

(a) to (f): A Statement is laid on the Table of the House. ******

STATEMENT  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PARTS  (a)  TO  (f)  OF UNSTARRED  QUESTION  NO.  2612  BY  DR.  SUKANTA  MAJUMDAR, SHRIMATI SANGEETA KUMARI SINGH DEO, SHRI RAJA AMARESHWARA NAIK AND SHRI BHOLA SINGH TO BE ANSWERED IN LOK SABHA ON 04.12.2019 REGARDING REPRESENTATIONS FROM MPs

- (a): In order to meet the urgent travel requirements of High Official Requisition (HOR) holders (which includes Central Government Ministers,  Judges  of  Hon'ble  Supreme  Court/High  Courts  of  various States), Members of Parliament and other emergent demands, who are on  the waiting list,  a  limited  number  of  berths/seats  have  been earmarked  as  Emergency  Quota  in  different  trains  and  in  different classes. The quota is released by the Railways in accordance with the priority  as  per  warrant  of  precedence  and  well-established  practice being  followed  since  long.    At  the  time  of  allotment  of  berths/seats, emergency quota is first allotted for self travel of HOR holders/Members of Parliament, etc., strictly as per their inter-se seniority in warrant of precedence. Thereafter, other requisitions received from various quarters  including  those  from  Members  of  Parliament  are  considered and the remaining quota is released taking into account various factors like  official  status  of  passengers  travelling,  nature  of  urgency  like travelling on government duty, bereavement in the family, sickness, job interview,  etc.  While  the  requests  received  from  HOR  holders/Hon'ble Members of Parliament for their self travel are complied with, in case of requests forwarded by them for other than self travel, at times, it is not feasible to accommodate all such requests when the demand exceeds the availability.
- (b): Since  a  large  number  of  requests  are  received  from  various quarters at various levels and are dealt with on day to day basis, details of  requests  received  for  release  of  accommodation  out  of  Emergency Quota including those from HOR holders/Hon'ble Members of Parliament are only preserved as per extant guidelines.
- (c): No, Sir. However, some instances of attempts to get accommodation  released  out  of  Emergency  Quota  on  the  authority  of fake  letter  heads  of  high  dignitaries  and  some  Railway  Officers  have come  to  notice.  As  reservation  staff  remains  alert  for  such  letters during peak rush periods, the genuineness of these letters are checked. When it is confirmed that these are fake, no accommodation is released

on  such  requests  and  further  action  like  lodging  of  criminal  case  is taken.

(d): It has been decided to provide the facility of booking reserved tickets  online  through  Indian  Railway  Catering  &  Tourism  Corporation (IRCTC) by sitting as well as former Parliamentarians. Software for the same has been developed and project is ready to be launched.

(e): No, Sir.

(f): Indian Railways have already taken various steps to streamline the  process  of  reservation  of  accommodation  by  Hon'ble  Members  of Parliament,  its  confirmation  by  release  of  emergency  quota  thereof, conducting  of  checks  to  keep  a  watch  on  the  activities  of  the  staff involved in release of emergency quota, etc. Recently, Minister of State of  Railways  has  written  a  letter  to  all  the  Hon'ble  Ministers  and Members of Parliament seeking their co-operation in systematizing the procedure of prioritization of letters received for release of accommodation out of Emergency Quota. Further, improvement in the functioning  of  computerized  Passenger  Reservation  System  (PRS), release of emergency quota, etc. is a continuous and ongoing process.

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