Indian Railways is ready to restore fare concessions for senior citizens in select sections after a parliamentary panel recommended restoration of benefits for the needy, two persons aware of the development said.
In a report tabled recently in Parliament, the Standing Committee recommended reinstatement of concessions for sleeper and AC three-tier classes in some trains to provide relief to senior citizens amongst the economically weaker sections, as mentioned above. People said on condition of anonymity.
With the withdrawal of the concession may be the Give It Up scheme, where individuals have the option to forgo the concession if desired.
Queries sent to the Ministry of Railways remained unanswered till press time.
In March 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic spread, the government withdrew the rail concessions. However, the parliamentary panel said that as the railways nears normalcy, it should judiciously consider the concessions given to different categories of passengers.
“The committee wants the concession available to senior citizens in pre-COVID times to be reviewed and considered urgently at least in sleeper class and III AC so that the vulnerable and really needy senior citizens can avail the facility in these classes. ” Its report stated.
The restoration of the concession, if approved by the Railways, for free will come against the backdrop of a raging political debate that the government regards as a vehicle to appease vote banks at huge economic cost. As part of its social service obligations, Railways gives concession in passenger fares for over 50 categories of passengers.
The element of concession varies from 10% to 100% (40-50%) for senior citizens and is allowed for certain categories, including physically challenged, 11 types of patients, senior citizens, freedom fighters, press Correspondents, war widows and players are included. ,
Railways also provides concessions to railway employees through Privilege Passes, Privilege Ticket Orders and Complimentary Passes. The amount of revenue foregone in the passenger income segment as a result of concessions was 1,670 crore in FY17, 1,810 crore in FY18 and 1,995 crore in FY19, a huge burden on railway finances. The panel also recommended that the ministry take proactive steps to review the criteria for granting concessions to reduce the impact on finance.
Replying to a question in Lok Sabha recently, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav said that restoration of concessions for senior citizens and sportspersons is not desirable as fares were already low in most classes, and due to low fares and concessions in railways. has suffered time and again. However, now it seems that the idea is to include the most needy category in the limited list of sections getting railway concessions.
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