An audit by the Comptroller and Auditor-General (CAG) has found defects in providing enhanced passenger facilities at almost 80 per cent of the Adarsh railway stations.
In the Railway Budget of 2009-10, the government announced the development of Adarsh stations, with improved ticketing, circulating area and signage and easy access and exit.
The CAG audited 78 of the 968 classified as Adarsh stations till March 2015. “Audit noticed that amenities such as pay-and-use toilets, high-level platforms, signage, etc., were not provided as per the norms prescribed by the Railway Board,” the audit report, released earlier this week, said.
There was some deficiency in passenger facilities at 61 of the 78 stations.
Pay-and-use toilets were not provided at almost half of these stations. These include Jharsuguda (Odisha), Miraj (Maharashtra), Sultanpur (Uttar Pradesh) and Dausa (Rajasthan). Thirteen stations had no waiting rooms with TV and bathrooms for passengers booked on upper classes. At 26 stations, these were not there for other classes, the audit revealed.
No X-ray scanners
The CAG flagged security concerns as there were no x-ray scanners at 71 railway stations. Out of 221 door-frame metal detectors at various stations, 44 per cent were found non-functional, “compromising safety and security of passengers”.
It said that in the last three years, the Indian Railways had not fully utilised the funds allotted for passenger amenities and that over 10 per cent funds were unutilised against the budget allocation in four Railway zones. “Facilities to be provided for physically challenged passengers at stations were found inadequate or improper,” the CAG said.
It also criticised the cleanliness at platforms, waiting halls, foot over bridges and station walls. “Cleanliness at stations is an issue which needs to be addressed on priority by the Railway administration. The Railway Board also needs to regularly monitor stations for cleanliness,” the report said.
