The Hindu Business Line : Rs 100-cr cleanliness drive by Railways

THE Railways are set to launch a Rs 100-crore cleanliness drive for trains passing through 14 major stations. The effort would generate employment for nearly 30,000 workers, half of which would be permanent Railway staff.

The drive involves mechanised cleaning of Railway station premises and also of passing trains. The Railways had chosen Ratlam, a busy junction in Madhya Pradesh, for the pilot programme and has decided to extend the drive to 14 important stations such as New Delhi, Mumbai, Lucknow, Patna and Mughalsarai in the current financial year.

"We would soon invite tenders from private players for mechanised cleaning of platforms, bridges and other areas at 14 stations. The trains passing through these stations would also be cleaned and sprayed with room-fresheners and mosquito repellents. Each train would be cleaned within minutes by trained staff of private players under the watchful eye of our staff," a senior Railway official said.

The Railways have yet to work out the recurring cost of the scheme, but it would create employment for about 14,500 `Group D' workers, besides 14,000 people are expected to be recruited by the private operators who get the contracts to keep the trains clean.

The Railways plans to cover 50 stations in the next couple of years that would serve trains originating from 118 centres. Over 30,000 coaches would be cleaned with mechanised equipment each day, the official said.

Meanwhile, the Minister of State for Railways, Mr Bandaru Dattatraya, told the Lok Sabha on Friday that in the last three years, the Railways have been able to reduce manpower by more than two per cent every year. The Railways hopes to maintain the trend over the next 10 years to downsize the 15.6-lakh strong workforce.

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