CAG catches railways napping

The railway ministry’s vigilance department has been caught napping by the CAG as the auditor exposed instances where more than double the permitted passengers were booked on a single PNR.

The ministry’s vigilance department, though, did not have any inkling of the irregularities.

The CAG, in its audit report tabled in parliament on Friday, said: “As per prescribed rules, maximum six passengers could be booked through one PNR. However, 189 PNRs (involving 1,922 passengers), having eight, 10 or 12 passengers were booked. Interestingly, all these bookings were made exactly at 8 am on October 23, 2009, which happened to be a day before Chhat, a prominent festival.”

On being asked whether the railways had any idea of the rampant irregularities, a senior ministry official told  DNA: “We have never received such complaints, at least at the board level. There might have been irregularities at the zonal levels, about which complaints may have been filed with the vigilance department concerned of the zones.”

It is strange though that the vigilance department was not alerted as the railway board had been constantly in touch with the CAG during its investigations. The CAG observed, “Agents and booking clerks were apparently conniving to deprive the general public of the benefits envisaged under the tatkal scheme.”