Lok Sabha Question No. 543 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-02-06
Subject: Bad Quality of Food
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: JANARDAN SINGH SIGRIWAL, RAJESHBHAI NARANBHAI CHUDASAMA

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.543 TO BE ANSWERED ON 06.02.2019

## BAD QUALITY OF FOOD

## 543. SHRI JANARDAN SINGH SIGRIWAL: SHRI RAJESHBHAI CHUDASAMA:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether serving of substandard items/eatables and unhygienic conditions  of  compartments  have  been  reported  in  Rajdhani  and Shatabdi and other long distance trains and if so, the reaction of the Railways thereto;
- (b) the number of complaints received in regard to serving of stale/inferior  quality  of  eatables  and  the  other  deficiencies  in  the catering service during the last one year, zone-wise;
- (c) the corrective action taken including termination of contracts of the contractors in the matter;
- (d) the other steps taken or being taken by the Railways to improve the quality of eatables/food items and other services in the trains; and
- (e) whether Railways proposes to do away with the compulsory booking of  meals  in  Shatabdi  and  Rajdhani  trains  and  if  so,  the  details thereof?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS (SHRI RAJEN GOHAIN)

- (a) to (e): A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

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STATEMENT  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PARTS  (a)  TO  (e)  OF UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 543 BY SHRI JANARDAN SINGH SIGRIWAL AND SHRI RAJESHBHAI CHUDASAMA TO BE ANSWERED IN LOK SABHA ON 06.02.2019 REGARDING BAD QUALITY OF FOOD (a): It is continuous endeavour of Indian Railways to provide good quality catering service and ensuring hygiene in compartments. Indian Railways have robust complaint management system in place, wherein complaints/feed backs/suggestions are received and appropriately addressed. These include complaints pertaining to poor catering services  and  unhygienic  condition  of  compartments.  All  complaints related to services on trains are dealt promptly and corrective action is taken,  including  imposition  of  penalties,  debarring  or  termination  of contract etc. as per the gravity of the complaints. (b) & (c): The number of complaints received in regard to serving of poor quality  of  food  and  the  other  deficiencies  in  the  catering  services  in trains during the last one year along with the action taken in this regard are appended. (d):  Steps taken to improve quality of catering services: To provide safe, healthy and quality food to passengers, a new Catering Policy  has  been  issued  on  27 th   February  2017.  As  per  Catering  Policy 2017, Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Limited (IRCTC) has  been  mandated  to  carry  out  unbundling  by  creating  a  distinction primarily  between  food  preparation  and  food  distribution  on  trains.  To ensure  hygienic and safe food  to passengers, following measures have been taken by Railways: (i) To  upgrade  quality  of  food  preparation,  IRCTC  is  setting  up  new kitchens  and  upgrading  existing  ones.    To  ensure  centralized

- monitoring of the kitchen activities, CCTVs have been installed in Base Kitchens/Kitchen Units. Sharing of live streaming of the Base Kitchens through website of IRCTC has been made operational.
- (ii) To  ensure  compliance  of  Food  Safety  Norms,  Food  Safety  and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) certification from Designated Food  Safety  Officers  of  each  catering  unit  is  mandatory.  Food Safety Supervisors have been deployed at Kitchen Units to monitor food  safety  and  hygienic  practices.  Food  samples  collected  by Food Safety Officers/Supervisors are sent to the nominated accredited  Laboratories  under  Food  Safety  &  Standard  Act  for analysis and testing. Penalties are imposed in cases of detection of unsatisfactory  food  samples  and  prosecutions  are  carried  out  as per provisions of Food Safety & Standard Rule -2011.
- (iii) Examination of quality of  food,  hygiene  and  cleanliness  in  Pantry Cars and Kitchen Units is done through Third Party Audit. Customer satisfaction survey is also conducted through Third Party Agencies.
- (iv) Regular and surprise inspections are conducted by railway officials including  Food  Safety  Officers.  Detailed  instructions/guidelines have been issued to the Zonal Railways for conducting inspections.
- (v) Apart from above,  to ensure  hygienic and safe food  to passengers following recent initiatives have also been taken by Railways:-
- I. Introduction of Optional Catering and Ready to Eat (RTE) Meals on selected trains.
- II. Introduction of Eco-friendly Sugar Bagasse (Biodegradable) packaging material.
- III.
- Provision of Service trolleys in Rajdhani and Duronto trains.
- IV. Provision of Hand sanitizers in Rajdhani/Shatabdi/Duronto trains.
- V. Introduction of Automatic vending machines on Humsafar trains.
- VI. Provision of tablets to on board catering supervisors for passenger feedback and inspection applications.
- VII. Provision  of  variety  of  cuisines  through  Food  Plazas  and  Food Units over Indian Railways.

## Steps taken to improve cleanliness of coaches:

- (i) Cleaning of coaches of trains at both ends, including mechanised cleaning.
- (ii) Provision of On Board Housekeeping Service (OBHS) in more than 1050 pairs of trains.
- (iii) Under 'Clean  My Coach'  scheme, passenger can  send  a  message through mobile (SMS) for any cleaning requirement in the coach.
- (iv) 'Coach  Mitra'  facility  has  been  introduced  in  about  1000  pairs  of trains  as  a  single  window  interface  to  register  coach  related requirements of passengers.
- (v) Provision  of  dustbins  in  non-AC  coaches  in  addition  to  the  AC coaches.
- (vi) Clean Train Station (CTS) scheme  for  cleaning of toilets of identified  trains  during  the  scheduled  stoppage  at  nominated stations.
- (vii) Installation of Bio-toilets in coaches.
- (viii) Regular pest control treatment of coaches.

(e):  For  pre-paid  trains  like  Rajdhani/Shatabdi/Duronto  where  catering charges are part of total ticket fare, optional catering service has been introduced on identified trains on pilot basis with effect from 01.08.2017.

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APPENDIX  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PARTS  (b)  AND  (c)  OF  UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 543 BY SHRI JANARDAN SINGH SIGRIWAL AND SHRI RAJESHBHAI CHUDASAMA TO BE ANSWERED IN LOK SABHA ON 06.02.2019 REGARDING BAD QUALITY OF FOOD.

(b) & (c): The number of complaints received in regard to serving of stale/inferior quality  of  eatables  and  the  other  deficiencies  in  the  catering  services  in  trains over Indian Railways during last one year i.e. from 01.01.2018 to 31.12.2018.

|        |                     |                    | Action Taken   | Action Taken                 | Action Taken   | Action Taken   | Action Taken   | Action Taken   | Action Taken   | Action Taken   | Action Taken   |
|--------|---------------------|--------------------|----------------|------------------------------|----------------|----------------|----------------|----------------|----------------|----------------|----------------|
|        |                     |                    | Fined          | Fined                        | Warned         |                | Advised        | Substantiated  |                |                |                |
| Zone * | Head                | No. of Compl aints | No. of case s  | Amount of Fine Imposed ( ₹ ) |                | Termination    | Suitably       | Not            | D & AR Action  | Any Other      | Total          |
|        | Quality             | 1839               | 268            | 17,20,580                    | 781            | 0              | 447            | 142            | 0              | 201            | 1839           |
|        | Other Deficie ncies | 5221               | 1933           | 1,21,32,775                  | 1631           | 0              | 665            | 304            | 0              | 688            | 5221           |
|        | Total               | 7060               | 2201           | 1,38,53,355                  | 2412           | 0              | 1112           | 446            | 0              | 889            | 7060           |

*The mobile catering services in all Trains on Indian Railways are presently being managed by Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) except for one train by South Western Railway.

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