Food is an inseparable part of long distance rail travel is food and the Railway Ministry is keen on improving the quality of it. With increasing complaints of overcharging for food on trains by the outsourced caterers, the Railway Ministry has planned a major crackdown. Dubbed as ‘No bill, free food’, the policy is expected to be enforced as early as 31st March and will be a game changer in the overall improvement of the railways. Railway Minister Piyush Goyal has given a go ahead for this policy which will ensure that your food on the train will be free unless it is backed by a payment receipt.
The catering problem
One of the pressing issues with respect to railways is the quality of the food served and distributed as well as the high prices which are incurred for it. In order to improve the quality of food, a decision of designing new kitchens and upgrading the existing ones has already been taken by the Railway Ministry. However, the other issue of over-charging is grave, and the ministry has reportedly received 7000 complaints in the year 2017 (between April and October) regarding this. The menace of overcharging is happening owing to the fact that the caterers are not displaying charges on the food items. They also are refusing bills on the grounds of excuses such as the non-availability of bill books or false promises of providing it at the end of the journey. While previous railway ministers concentrated more on the routes and overall fares, Piyush Goyal will be targeting one of those few overlooked problems prevalent in the railways.
So how will the Railway Ministry’s ‘No Bill, Free Food’ policy change things and more over how will it be implemented?
The policy basically entails that the caterers are bound to give receipts for the food items they sell, otherwise the passengers won’t have to pay for the food. Food item prices are displayed in malls and movie with similar disclaimers. By March 31st, all trains serving food will have this policy in place and the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) has started already flashing this message on its ticket-booking website.
Policies promoted by the govt may be excellent, but they can face many implementation issues. Sometimes the polices are ground breaking but they lack assistance when it comes to application. In case of this policy, the Railway Ministry has already placed certain robust measures to ensure that this policy percolates and gets applied at the ground levels.
For starters, the Railway Ministry has deployed inspectors to enforce a two-prong implementation. Firstly, these inspectors will monitor that every transaction is fair in terms of prices, and secondly they will ensure that a bill basically is issued, even if it is for something as small as a cup of tea.
120 officials have already been readied to man the trains for overseeing the process of pricing and bill issuing, and with time more personnel will be employed for audit purposes.
If a bill is not issued or the food is overpriced, it would follow stern action from the Railway Ministry, such as cancellation of catering licenses or the application of hefty fines. Previously, the Railways had suspended the contracts of two caterers over allegations of overcharging, while some other caterers were fined exorbitantly.
Over charging with respect to food has been the single biggest nuisance and has contributed the most to the list of problems experienced by passengers. Piyush Goyal has been instrumental in turning around the crisis ridden coal ministry and electrifying villages as power minister. The railways too may soon see itself a better position with such groundbreaking steps.