Randeep Surjewala Slams Indian Railways For Spending Rs 69 Lakhs To 'Catch Rats'

Reacting to the recent Right to Information (RTI) report that revealed the Lucknow division of the Northern Railways spent ₹69.5 lakh between 2020 and 2022 "to catch rats", the Congress on Sunday accused the Indian Railways over corruption charges.

Earlier, the Lucknow division of the Indian Railways in response to the application filed by activist Chandrashekhar Gaur said the expenses incurred between 2020 and 2022 to catch rats amounted to around ₹69 lakh and 168 rats were caught which means the cost to catch one rat stood at ₹41,000.

Taking a dig at the Centre, Rajya Sabha MP Randeep Singh Surjewala wrote on platform X, "Railways spent ₹41,000 and six days in catching a rat! By spending a total of ₹69.40 lakh, 156 rats were caught in 3 years! This is the condition of the Lucknow region alone."

"All over the country, the 'rats of corruption' are picking people's pockets every day... Result: Under BJP rule, people are hit by rampant inflation every day. Even the concession given to the elderly in rail fares has been eaten away! Still, he says - 'Neither will I eat nor will I let you eat ..' !" he added.

₹23,16,150.84 has been spent each year during the period from 2019 to 2022 for depots at Lucknow Division for Primary based train year-wise of division towards rodent control.

Giving clarification on the expenses, the Lucknow division of Northern Railway stated that these activities include pest control measures, such as using flushing agents to prevent cockroach infestations, disinfecting train coaches to deter rodents, conducting fogging activities, and more.

"The work is more of a preventive nature rather than actively catching rodents. Total cost as mentioned in the article of ₹23.2 lakh per year in the comprehensive control of cockroaches, rodents, bed bugs, mosquitoes extra in all coaches maintained at Lucknow Division," the rail division said in a statement

Considering the average of 25,000 coaches addressed each year, this results in an approximate cost of ₹94 per coach for rodent control - "very minimal cost considering the damage, and destruction which can be caused by the rodent," it added.

However, the Railways did not revert to Gaur's query about the value of the damage caused by the rats stating that no assessment of damage had been made.