Railway catering scam: 1 kg curd for ₹9720, cooking oil for ₹1,241 a litre

Responding on the RTI filed by an activist Ajay Bose, Indian Railways informed that curd was bought for about Rs 9,720 a kg, nearly 40 times higher than mrp

By: News Desk |
May 2, 2017 6:57 pm

The details in response to an Right to Information (RTI) filed by an activist Ajay Bose has shocked everyone.The RTI disclosed that curd bought for about 9,720 per kg, nearly 40 times higher than the market price.

According to the reports published in the Hindu, the Indian Railways informed that the government had bought 15,336 units of curd, for Rs 1,49,19,934.

Meanwhile, a probe has been ordered into the matter and the public transport body has suspended three of its officials and transferred another, reasoning that the information given in response to Ajay Bose (RTI activist) was wrong.

The RTI information has revealed another scam in the Indian Railways.

6/Rly Board has taken a very serious view of RTI wrong info,3 rly official hv been suspended & 1 officer is transferred w/ immediate effect https://t.co/cyZX9OSZM3

— Ministry of Railways (@RailMinIndia) May 2, 2017

Indian Railways took to Twitter and gave clearification on the matter. Indian Railways tweeted that curd was purchased for Rs 972 a kilo, and not Rs 9,720.

Clearing the air, the government body said it has found the root cause of the problem.

The report also said that 58 litres of cooking oil were reportedly bought for Rs 72,034 in March 2016. That would make a litre for Rs 1,241. 170 bottles of water/cold drinks were bought for Rs 1,06,031, at an average of Rs 59 a bottle.

8/Correct info is Rs 970 for a carton hving 108 curd cups i.e. Rs 8.9/100gm & Rs1241 for 15 litre tin of refined oil i.e. Rs 82.7/litre https://t.co/Z8Hs4ouTtk

— Ministry of Railways (@RailMinIndia) May 2, 2017

Moong and Tur dal were bought for Rs 157 per kilo; 570 kilos of the former were bought and 148.5 kilos of the latter were got.

Also, over 650 kilos of chicken were bought for close to Rs 233 per kilo.

The report mentioned that Bose had filed a second RTI after filing one in July 2016. There was no response to the first appeal, and the response to the second disclosed the information.

According to the Divisional Railway Manager (DRM), CR, Ravindra Goyal that the mistake could be due to a ‘typing error’.

Correct info is Rs 970 for a carton hving 108 curd cups i.e. Rs 8.9/100gm & Rs1241 for 15 litre tin of refined oil i.e. Rs 82.7/litre https://t.co/IdqzL9Plpf

— Ministry of Railways (@RailMinIndia) May 2, 2017

Asuring a strict action, Subhash Gupta, a member of the Zonal Railway Users Consultative Committee (ZRUCC) and President of the Rail Pravasi Sangh said, ‘action should be taken against the officials involved and that so many irregularities cannot be typing mistakes.’