Railways spent ₹69 lakh to ‘catch rat’ in Lucknow, reveals RTI; Cong reacts
The Congress on Sunday alleged corruption within the Indian Railways after a latest Proper to Info (RTI) question revealed that the Lucknow division of the Northern Railways spent ₹69.5 lakh between 2020 and 2022 “to catch rats”.
Railways say work is extra of a preventive nature relatively than actively catching rodents.(Photograph by Joshua J. Cotten on Unsplash/Consultant Picture)
In response to the RTI utility filed by activist Chandrashekhar Gaur, the Lucknow division mentioned the bills over these two years amounted to round ₹69 lakh and 168 rats had been caught – if equated per rat, it comes out to be about ₹41,000.
Reacting to the RTI reply, Rajya Sabha MP Randeep Singh Surjewala took to X and wrote, “Railways spent ₹41,000 and 6 days in catching a rat! By spending a complete of ₹69.40 lakh, 156 rats had been caught in 3 years! That is the situation of the Lucknow area alone.”
“All around the nation, the ‘rats of corruption’ are selecting folks’s pockets on daily basis… Outcome: Beneath BJP rule, persons are hit by rampant inflation on daily basis. Even the concession given to the aged in rail fares has been eaten away! Nonetheless, he says – ‘Neither will I eat nor will I allow you to eat ..’ !” he added.
Learn the response to the RTI question
₹23,16,150.84 has been spent every year through the interval from 2019 to 2022 for depots at Lucknow Division for Main based mostly practice year-wise of division in the direction of rodent management.
Yr-wise element of no. of rodents trapped within the earlier 3 years are:
2020-83 Nos.
2021-45 Nos.
2022-40 Nos.
Railways problem clarification
The Lucknow division of Northern Railway issued clarification stating that these actions embody a spread of pest management measures, corresponding to utilizing flushing brokers to forestall cockroach infestations, disinfecting practice coaches to discourage rodents, conducting fogging actions, and extra.
“The work is extra of a preventive nature relatively than actively catching rodents. Whole price as talked about within the article of ₹23.2 lakh per 12 months within the complete management of cockroaches, rodents, mattress bugs, mosquitoes additional in all coaches maintained at Lucknow Division,” the rail division mentioned in a press release
Contemplating the common of 25,000 coaches addressed every year, this leads to an approximate price of ₹94 per coach for rodent management – “very minimal price contemplating the harm, and destruction which may be brought on by the rodent,” it added.
The Lucknow division additional mentioned the price of catching one rat represented as ₹41,000 is a “misrepresentation of actuality and distortion of details geared toward harming the repute of Indian Railways”.
No reply on harm by rats
Gaur’s RTI utility had additionally requested concerning the worth of the harm brought on by the rats. The railways, nonetheless, didn’t present particular particulars, stating that no evaluation of harm had been made.
