Lok Sabha Question No. 2758 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-03-10
Subject: Quality of Food
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Ramesh Chander Kaushik

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.2758 TO BE ANSWERED ON 10.03.2021

## QUALITY OF FOOD

†2758. SHRI RAMESH CHANDER KAUSHIK:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether IRCTC food inspectors have been appointed to monitor the food quality in Pantry Car of every train;
- (b)  if  so,  the  procedure  by  which  passengers  are  given  information about the inspector so appointed through which they can register their complaint;
- (c)  the  details  of  the  complaints  regarding  food  quality  received  by these Inspectors as on date and the action taken thereon;
- (d)  the  number  of  contractors  found  guilty  regarding  food  quality, hygiene and cleanliness of pantry car and kitchen units in third party audit during the last five years; and
- (e) the details of the action taken against them?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, COMMERCE & INDUSTRY AND CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD & PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION

## (SHRI PIYUSH GOYAL)

(a):  Yes,  Sir.  Supervisors  of  Indian  Railway  Catering  and  Tourism Corporation  Limited  (IRCTC)  have  been  deployed  in  special  Rajdhani, Shatabdi, Duronto, Tejas and Vande Bharat trains on end to end basis and in Mail/ Express trains on sectional basis.

(b): Complaint registration is done through robust mechanism established  by  Indian  Railways  through  use  of  IT  systems.  The mechanism includes  Rail  Madad  integrated  helpline  no.  139,  Twitter handle,  CPGRAMS,  E-Mail  and  SMS.  The  information  regarding  the procedure  for  registering  complaints  has  been  made  available  on  ETicket  and  portal  of  IRCTC.  The  IRCTC  supervisor  is  deployed  for monitoring and supervision of onboard catering services.

(c):  The  details  of  the  complaints  regarding  food  quality  received  by IRCTC  supervisors for the period 01.04.2019 to 28.02.2021 are appended as Appendix-I.

(d)  and  (e):  The  number  of  contractors  found  guilty  regarding  food quality, hygiene and cleanliness of pantry car and kitchen units in third party audit during the last five years and the details of the action taken against them are appended as Appendix-II.

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APPENDIX-I  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PART  (c)  OF  UNSTARRED QUESTION  NO.  2758  BY  SHRI  RAMESH  CHANDER  KAUSHIK  TO  BE ANSWERED  IN  LOK  SABHA  ON  10.03.2021  REGARDING  QUALITY  OF FOOD

(c): The details of the complaints regarding quality of food received by Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) supervisors for the period 01.04.2019 to 28.02.2021 are as under:

|                      | Action Taken Thereon            | Action Taken Thereon         | Action Taken Thereon          | Action Taken Thereon   | Action Taken Thereon        | Action Taken Thereon        | Action Taken Thereon   | Action Taken Thereon   | Action Taken Thereon   | Action Taken Thereon   | Action Taken Thereon   | Action Taken Thereon   | Action Taken Thereon   | Action Taken Thereon   | Action Taken Thereon   | Action Taken Thereon   |
|----------------------|---------------------------------|------------------------------|-------------------------------|------------------------|-----------------------------|-----------------------------|------------------------|------------------------|------------------------|------------------------|------------------------|------------------------|------------------------|------------------------|------------------------|------------------------|
|                      | Fined                           | Fined                        | Fined                         | Warned                 | Terminated Suitably Advised | Substantiated D & AR Action | Any Other              |                        |                        |                        |                        |                        |                        |                        |                        |                        |
| Number of complaints | No. of cases where fine imposed | Amount of fine imposed ( ₹ ) | Amount of fine realised ( ₹ ) |                        |                             | Not                         |                        | Total                  | Total                  | Total                  | Total                  | Total                  | Total                  | Total                  |                        |                        |
| 277                  |                                 |                              |                               |                        |                             |                             |                        |                        |                        |                        |                        |                        |                        |                        |                        |                        |
|                      |                                 | 12,90,000                    |                               |                        | 49                          |                             |                        | 277                    | 277                    | 277                    | 277                    | 277                    | 277                    | 277                    |                        |                        |
|                      |                                 |                              |                               |                        |                             | 0                           |                        |                        |                        |                        |                        |                        |                        |                        |                        |                        |
|                      | 48                              |                              |                               |                        |                             |                             |                        |                        |                        |                        |                        |                        |                        |                        |                        |                        |
|                      |                                 |                              |                               |                        |                             |                             | 10                     |                        |                        |                        |                        |                        |                        |                        |                        |                        |
|                      |                                 |                              |                               |                        |                             | 2                           |                        |                        |                        |                        |                        |                        |                        |                        |                        |                        |
|                      |                                 |                              |                               |                        | 0                           |                             |                        |                        |                        |                        |                        |                        |                        |                        |                        |                        |
|                      |                                 |                              |                               |                        | 11,50,000168                |                             |                        |                        |                        |                        |                        |                        |                        |                        |                        |                        |

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APPENDIX-II  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PARTS  (d)  AND  (e)  OF UNSTARRED  QUESTION NO. 2758 BY SHRI  RAMESH  CHANDER KAUSHIK TO BE ANSWERED IN LOK SABHA ON 10.03.2021 REGARDING QUALITY OF FOOD

(d)  and  (e):  The  number  of  contractors  found  guilty  regarding  food quality, hygiene and cleanliness of pantry car and kitchen units in third party  audit  during  the  last  five  years  and  the  details  of  the  action taken against them are as under:

|                |                              |                      | Outcome of Audit                | Action Taken   | Action Taken   | Action Taken   | Action Taken     | Action Taken      | Action Taken   | Action Taken   |
|----------------|------------------------------|----------------------|---------------------------------|----------------|----------------|----------------|------------------|-------------------|----------------|----------------|
| Financial Year | Type of units                | No. of units audited | No. of contractors found guilty | Fined          | Warned         | Terminated     | Suitably Advised | Not Substantiated | Any Other      | Total          |
| 2015-16        | Pantry Cars/ Mini Pantry     | 19                   | 0                               | 0              | 0              | 0              | 0                | 0                 | 0              | 0              |
| 2015-16        | Base Kitchens/ Kitchen Units | 0                    | 0                               | 0              | 0              | 0              | 0                | 0                 | 0              | 0              |
| 2016-17        | Pantry Cars/ Mini Pantry     | 35                   | 0                               | 0              | 0              | 0              | 0                | 0                 | 0              | 0              |
| 2016-17        | Base Kitchens/ Kitchen Units | 6                    | 0                               | 0              | 0              | 0              | 0                | 0                 | 0              | 0              |
| 2017-18        | Pantry Cars/ Mini Pantry     | 10                   | 0                               | 0              | 0              | 0              | 0                | 0                 | 0              | 0              |
| 2017-18        | Base Kitchens/ Kitchen Units | 0                    | 0                               | 0              | 0              | 0              | 0                | 0                 | 0              | 0              |
| 2018-19        | Pantry Cars/ Mini Pantry     | 79                   | 8                               | 0              | 1              | 0              | 7                | 0                 | 0              | 8              |
| 2018-19        | Base Kitchens/ Kitchen Units | 129                  | 25                              | 0              | 0              | 0              | 25               | 0                 | 0              | 25             |
| 2019-20        | Pantry Cars/ Mini Pantry     | 229                  | 109                             | 0              | 55             | 0              | 41               | 0                 | 13             | 109            |
| 2019-20        | Base Kitchens/ Kitchen Units | 123                  | 21                              | 0              | 21             | 0              | 0                | 0                 | 0              | 21             |

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