Parl panel wants senior citizen rebate in AC-3 tier train travel
New Delhi, Aug 10: A parliamentary committee has recommended that senior citizen concessions be reviewed and restored "urgently" at least for sleeper class and AC 3-tier train travel.
In its report submitted on August 4, the Standing Committee on Railways said senior citizens were earlier granted a concession amounting to 40-50 per cent of their railway fares, but the practice was stopped during the COVID-19 crisis.
It also urged the ministry to give wide publicity to the "give up" scheme, which encourages senior citizens to give up their concessions voluntarily, news agency PTI reported.
The Ministry of Railways in its action-taken report has stated that in view of the pandemic, concession to all categories of passengers (except the four categories of Divyangjan, and 11 categories of patients and students) have been withdrawn.
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"Given the reply of the government, the committee note that as of now, the concession to senior citizens has been withdrawn in view of the pandemic and Covid protocol. The committee are of the view that since the Railways are heading towards normalcy, they should consider the concessions granted to different categories of passengers judiciously.
"The
committee
desire
that
concession
to
senior
citizens
which
was
available
in
pre-COVID
times
may
be
reviewed
and
considered
at
least
in
Sleeper
Class
and
III
AC
urgently,
so
that
the
vulnerable
and
the
genuinely
needy
senior
citizens
could
avail
the
facility
in
these
classes,"
the
committee
headed
by
BJP
leader
Radha
Mohan
Singh
said.
The
Railways
spends
around
Rs
2,000
crore
on
senior
citizen
concessions
annually.