Gujarat: Railways to strengthen drinking water checks at 20,000 locations after CAG audit

Ahmedabad, Aug 18 (IANS) Indian Railways will introduce a ‘Tank to Tap’ water filtration and monitoring system at around 20,000 locations across its network as an immediate corrective measure following a review of drinking water arrangements after a Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) audit.

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Railway Board, and senior officials conducted the review, issuing directions to strengthen the quality, availability, and monitoring of drinking water at railway facilities.

Under the planned measures, water storage tanks will also be replaced wherever required.

The Railways have directed regular testing of drinking water quality at both water sources and outlet points, with centralised monitoring and accountability mechanisms.

Storage tanks will be cleaned and maintained according to a prescribed schedule, and water quality reports and progress will be reviewed regularly.

The Railway Board will monitor the implementation, and reports on progress and drinking water quality will be published periodically to ensure transparency.

The CAG audit covered 512 railway stations and assessed compliance with the prescribed Minimum Essential Amenities (MEA) standards.

The audit found shortfalls in several passenger facilities, including drinking water taps, seating, toilets, fans and platform shelters.

The CAG’s official audit document states that the assessment examined whether the minimum level of amenities had been provided at the selected stations and recorded shortfalls against prescribed norms.

Western Railway, meanwhile, has sought to clarify the findings concerning Ahmedabad and Surat stations, stressing that the CAG’s observations relate to the number of facilities available against prescribed standards rather than the complete absence of those facilities.

“In its Appendix-V, the CAG selected Ahmedabad and Surat among 10 stations with higher revenue and passenger traffic for assessment against MEA standards,” the division said.

According to the Western Railway clarification, the terminology used in the report — “shortfall in provision of MEA” — refers to a deficiency in the quantity of a facility compared with the prescribed standard.

At Ahmedabad station, the CAG noted a shortfall in the prescribed number of drinking water taps, seating arrangements and water coolers.

Western Railway said this does not mean that drinking water, seating or water coolers are unavailable at the station. Similarly, at Surat station, the report noted a shortfall in drinking water taps and fans against the prescribed standards.

Western Railway said, “The report does not state that drinking water or other basic passenger amenities are generally unavailable to passengers at the station.”

The CAG’s audit found that only 54 of the 512 stations jointly inspected had no shortfall in the availability of the MEAs checked.

Its assessment recorded deficiencies in several categories, including drinking water taps, seating, urinals, latrines and platform shelters.

The prescribed norm for NSG-1 to NSG-4 stations is 20 drinking water taps per platform.

Therefore, where the number of taps falls below the prescribed figure, the CAG records this as a “shortfall”. Western Railway said such a finding should not be interpreted as meaning that drinking water is unavailable at the station.

The zone also pointed to its overall performance in the CAG’s inter-zonal assessment. Western Railway recorded a deficiency score of 34.90 for Minimum Essential Amenities and ranked second among the 16 zonal railways, according to the zone’s clarification.

The selection of Ahmedabad and Surat, both high-revenue and high-passenger-traffic stations, was part of a wider assessment to check compliance with MEA standards at stations across different categories.

The CAG’s audit document confirms that the exercise covered selected stations across 13 railway zones and assessed facilities against prescribed MEA norms.

“It is taking the CAG observations seriously, and that action was being taken to strengthen facilities in line with the prescribed standards and address identified deficiencies within a time-bound framework,” officials said.

The Railways’ decision to introduce the ‘Tank to Tap’ system comes amid the wider concerns raised by the CAG audit over drinking water quality and passenger amenities.

The proposed system is intended to cover water filtration and monitoring, with the Railway Board placing greater emphasis on regular testing, maintenance and accountability across the network.

–IANS

mys/dan