No food bill, no payment – Here's how Railways wants to target overcharging

New Delhi: Indian Railways, flooded with complaints of over-priced food on social media, has taken several measures lately to check the issue.

The Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) had even released a new menu card on its Twitter account to inform rail passengers about the food rates last year.

In a latest move, Railway Minister Piyush Goyal has taken a policy decision implying the food should be considered free or no payment should be made if the passengers don't get any bills for it. The “No food bill, no payment” is widely practiced in malls, restaurants and cafes.

The new order will allow passengers to insist on bills so that train caterers can be checked for overcharging.

As per media reports, Railway ministry has instructed that trains where food is served on payment basis should have this policy in place by March 31. The Railway ministry is also reportedly deploying inspectors to check overcharging.

Meanwhile, in June last year, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India had said in a scathing report that the food sold at railway stations is "unfit for human consumption" and the hygiene standards at railway catering units are below par

The CAG performance audit found unpurified tap water being used to make beverages, uncovered and unwashed waste bins, food left out in the open, and rats and cockroaches at catering units in trains and stations

The report was prepared after inspections at 74 stations and 80 trains, covering the period from 2013 to 2016 and issues of earlier years which could not be reported earlier