Lok Sabha Question No. 1038 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2015-07-27
Subject: Irregularities in Railways
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: KESHAV PRASAD MAURYA

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.1038 TO BE ANSWERED ON 27.07.2015

## IRREGULARITIES IN RAILWAYS

- † 1038.  SHRI KESHAV PRASAD MAURYA:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) the  number  of  cases  of  corruption  reported  and  investigated  in Railways during the last five years;
- (b) the number of cases in which investigation is pending along with the reasons thereof;
- (c) the  steps  taken/being  taken  by  the  Railways  to  improve  the quality  of  Railway  Catering  and  check  on  irregularities  in  awarding catering contracts;
- (d) the details of the policy relating to seat reservation in trains and the basis on which the number of reserved seats decided; and
- (e) whether any irregularities have been found in Railway Recruitment  during  the  last  three  years  and  any  exams  have  been cancelled as a result thereof and if so, the details thereof along with the corrective steps taken by the Railways in this regard?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

(SHRI MANOJ SINHA)

(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.1038 BY SHRI KESHAV  PRASAD MAURYA, TO BE ANSWERED IN LOK SABHA ON 27.07.2015 REGARDING IRREGULARITIES IN RAILWAYS

(a) & (b) Details  of  cases  investigated  and  the  number  of  cases  in which investigation is pending are as follows:

|   Year |   No. of Complaints taken up for Investigations including B/F Cases |   Investigation Completed during the year |   Pending as On 31 st December |
|--------|---------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------|--------------------------------|
|   2010 |                                                                3457 |                                      2070 |                           1387 |
|   2011 |                                                                3527 |                                      2176 |                           1351 |
|   2012 |                                                                4187 |                                      2447 |                           1740 |
|   2013 |                                                                4484 |                                      2170 |                           2314 |
|   2014 |                                                                5243 |                                      2735 |                           2508 |

Investigations are done as per existing guidelines. It is a continuous process.

(c) Improvement  of  catering  services  is  an  on-going  process.    Steps taken/being  taken  to  further  improve  the  catering  services  include  (i) Third  Party  Audit  of  catering  services  to  be  conducted  at  periodic intervals  by  independent  and  reputed  auditing  agencies  accredited  by NABCB  (National Accreditation Board for Certification Bodies) as empanelled by the zonal Railways. (ii) Introduction of e-Catering so that passengers  can  book  the  food  of  their  choice  through  internet.  (iii) Introduction of Pre-cooked Food (ready to eat) meals of reputed brands to improve the quality, hygiene and to provide variety of options of meals to  the  passengers.  (iv)  Setting  up  of  centralized  Catering  Services Monitoring Cell (CSMC) with a toll free number 1800-111-321 for prompt redressal of the passenger grievances related to the catering activities and real time assistance to travelling public. (v) Imposition of stringent punitive  action  including  heavy  penalties  in  case  of  deficiencies  in services.

Further, a transparent contract awarding and management system has been laid down in Catering Policy, 2010.  Standard Bid Documents (SBDs) for award of general minor units, major static units and mobile catering units (Pantry car) have been issued.

- (d) As per extant instructions, reserved accommodation available in a train is distributed by zonal Railways amongst various stations in such a way  that  maximum  accommodation  is  generally  earmarked  at  train originating station for end to end passengers. In case the train originates from  a  less  important  station  from  traffic  point  of  view,  maximum accommodation  is  earmarked  for  more  important  en-route  stations. Review  and  adjustments  of  distribution  of  reserved  accommodation under various reservation quotas is also done by zonal Railways keeping in view the demand pattern and utilization.
- (e) Leakage  of  questions  of  the  written  examination  conducted  by Railway  Recruitment  Cell  (RRC),  Eastern  Railway  on  23.11.2014  (2nd session)  and  30.11.2014  (both  sessions)  was  taken  note  of.    Written Examination  of  the  said  dates  of  Railway  Recruitment  Cell,  Eastern Railway was cancelled and re-examination on 01.02.2015 and 15.02.2015 has been conducted.

Ministry of Railways has already carried out a technical audit of the system of examinations by Railway Recruitment Board (RRBs) in August 2010, and necessary changes in the system of printing, transportation, storage and distribution of question papers for examinations have been made to make the system foolproof to prevent leakage.  Since then, 45 RRB  examinations  have  been  conducted  smoothly  and  no  untoward incident has taken place.

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