Lok Sabha Question No. 995 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-02-08
Subject: Confirmation of Tickets under Emergency Quota
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Devendrappa Y, Sunil Kumar Singh, Shivkumar Chanabasappa Udasi, Saikia Dilip

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 995 TO BE ANSWERED ON 08.02.2023

## CONFIRMATION OF TICKETS UNDER EMERGENCY QUOTA

995. SHRI Y. DEVENDRAPPA:

SHRI SUNIL KUMAR SINGH:

SHRI SHIVAKUMAR C. UDASI:

SHRI DILIP SAIKIA:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

(a) whether  very  less  Railway  Tickets  are  getting  confirmed  under emergency  quota  against  the  letters  issued  by  the  Members  of Parliament particularly in the trains passing from Delhi or from their respective Lok  Sabha Constituencies and if so, the reasons therefor;

- (b) whether some people are getting their tickets confirmed unlawfully  through  agents  and  if  so,  whether  any  measures  have been taken by the Government to discontinue the said practice;
- (c) whether  the  Government  is  considering  to  confirm  the  tickets favourably against the letters issued by the Members of Parliament, if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor; and
- (d) whether the Government is considering on switching the requests  for  getting  the  railway  tickets  confirmed  through  VIP quota  to  online  mode,  if  so,  the  details  thereof  and  if  not,  the reasons therefor?

ANSWER MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, COMMUNICATIONS AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)

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

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STATEMENT  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PARTS  (a)  TO  (d)  OF UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 995 BY SHRI Y. DEVENDRAPPA, SHRI SUNIL  KUMAR  SINGH,  SHRI  SHIVAKUMAR  C.  UDASI  AND  SHRI DILIP  SAIKIA  TO  BE  ANSWERED  IN  LOK  SABHA  ON  08.02.2023 REGARDING  CONFIRMATION  OF  TICKETS  UNDER  EMERGENCY QUOTA.

(a) to  (c)  :  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 accommodation  is  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 accommodation, 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  Hon'ble  Members  of  Parliament  are considered and the remaining quota is released taking into account various factors like nature of urgency like travelling on government duty, bereavement in the family, sickness, job interview, etc. While the  requests  forwarded by Hon'ble MPs (for other  than self-travel) are generally complied with, at times, particularly during week-ends and peak periods, when demand exceeds the availability, it is not feasible to accommodate all such requests.

Some instances of getting accommodation released out of Emergency Quota on account of fake letterheads of high dignitaries have come  to notice. With a view to prevent malpractices, reservation requests received from various quarters for release of accommodation out of Emergency Quota are checked from time to time and in case where there is a doubt about the genuineness of the  request/letter,  the  position  is  checked  up  by  speaking  to  the concerned  person  on  phone.    Instructions  on  this  account  which already exist are reiterated from time to time.  Further, when there is gap in demand and supply of reserved accommodation, particularly  during  peak  rush  periods,  efforts  are  made  to  bridge this  gap  by  planning  holiday  special  trains  during  the  peak  rush day-to-day requirements and increasing the number of coaches on permanent basis  in  those  trains  which  have  high  demand  and  patronage, subject  to  operational  feasibility.      Moreover,  random  checks  are conducted  in  association  with  Vigilance  Organisation.    If  any Railway official is found involved in any irregularity,  the official is taken up under Disciplinary & Appeal Rules.  The process of checks and tightening of procedures is a continuous activity and is closely

periods, putting on extra coaches to meet the monitored. (d) : With a view to avoid misuse of facility of release of accommodation out of Emergency Quota by unscrupulous elements, the emergency  quota  is released based on written requests received from authorized officers. At present, there is no proposal under  consideration  to  accept  such  requests  through  any  online mode of communications.

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