Don't claim for journeys not performed, MPs told

New Delhi: Taking cognizance of large-scale multiple bookings for train travel being made by the members of Rajya Sabha for which the Secretariat is required to pay for the all the bookings, including for the journeys not performed, members of the House have been advised by Secretary-General Desh Deepak Verma, through a bulletin, to ensure cancellation of bookings not availed, failing which recovery will be made for such bookings if they are not cancelled in time, according to sources.

With Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu desiring to know the extent of multiple bookings and their implications, the Rajya Sabha Secretariat has done an analysis of the number of bookings made and actual journeys undertaken by some sitting and former members of the Rajya Sabha. This has revealed that the Rajya Sabha Secretariat is being asked by the Railways to pay huge amounts for journeys not performed by the sitting and former members further to such multiple bookings.

A former member of Rajya Sabha has made as many as 63 bookings of up to 4 per day on 23 days in January 2019 costing a total of Rs 1,69,005. As against this, the said former member has confirmed having travelled by train only on 7 occasions against a total train fare of only Rs 22,085.

This in effect means, the Rajya Sabha Secretariat has to pay an extra amount of Rs 1,46,920 which comes to about 87% of the total amount claimed by the Railways on account of bookings made by the said former member of Rajya Sabha during the month of January 2019.

In respect of a sitting member also, the analysis done by the Rajya Sabha Secretariat has revealed that the actual journeys performed during January 2019 amounted to only 15% of the total claim of Railways.

This in effect means, the Secretariat requiring to pay 85% extra for journeys not performed and the respective bookings not cancelled. For the calendar year 2019, the Railways have raised a demand for a payment of Rs 7.8 crore to be made by the Rajya Sabha Secretariat as 1/3rd share of the total cost of train travel by the sitting and former members of Parliament, their spouses and companions.

The rest 2/3rd of the total cost is to be paid by the Lok Sabha Secretariat. The members of Rajya Sabha are being advised for some years to avoid multiple train bookings and to cancel the unused bookings. Further to audit objections regarding such multiple bookings and the cost sharing formula and directions of the Central Information Commission to recast the process of train bookings, the Rajya Sabha Secretariat has been taking up the matter with the Railways over the last couple of years.

Railways have since agreed to change the software for train bookings by the members of Parliament to enable identification of bookings by the Members of both the Houses separately. This new software is likely to be operationalised soon.