Arvind Kejriwal, the chief minister of Delhi, has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to reinstate the fare breaks provided by the railroads to older residents. He claimed in a letter to the prime minister last Saturday that extending the subsidy to older citizens will cost the Government, which has a budget of Rs. 45 lakh crore, Rs. 1600 crore. He described the sum as “a drop in the ocean” and claimed that by not spending it, the government won’t get wealthy. He added that closing the centre sent the wrong message to older persons about the government’s caring for them and went against national culture. He continued by saying that no individual, community, or nation can advance without the support of the aged.
He claimed that the elderly, whose free religious visits have been arranged by his government, were blessing Delhi’s success in all areas. The Center had stopped granting elderly citizens concessions in 2020 in an effort to stifle public activity to stop the expansion of COVID-19. A recent recommendation for the railroads to resume their senior citizen fare reduction was made by a parliamentary standing committee. Males 60 years of age or older used to receive a 40% fare discount from the Indian Railways, and women received a 50% discount if they were at least 58 years old.
The Mail/Express/Rajdhani/Shatabdi/Duranto group of trains offered these discounts in all tariff classes, however they were removed on March 20, 2020. According to information provided by the Railways, the Covid situation has now returned to normal, and the national transporter has experienced normal growth, according to the Standing Committee on Railways, which is chaired by BJP MP Radha Mohan Singh. “In their 12th Action Taken Report (17th Lok Sabha) on the Passenger Reservation System, the Committee expressed a desire for the pre-Covid senior citizen concessions to be reviewed and taken into consideration, at the very least in Sleeper Class and 3A Class, so that the weak and genuinely in needy citizens could take advantage of the service in these classes.
The Railways, however, said it had no immediate plans to resume the concession.Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to restore the concession.The Committee, therefore, reiterate their earlier recommendation contained in their above-said report and urge upon the Railways to consider empathically for resuming concessions in fares to senior citizens, particularly in Sleeper Class and 3A Class.
Terming the amount as a drop in the ocean, he said the government will not become wealthy by not spending the amount, adding that stopping the facility sent a message to senior citizens that the government did not care for them, which was contrary to the culture of the nation. No person, society, or country can progress without the blessings of the elderly, he added, adding that Delhi was seeing progress in all areas thanks to the blessings of the elderly, for whom free pilgrimage was provided.
The Indian Railways used to offer a 40% discount in fares to males aged 60 years or above and a 50% discount in fares for females if the minimum age was 58 years; these concessions were granted in fares of all classes of Mail/Express/Rajdhani/ Shatabdi/Duranto group of trains but were withdrawn on March 20, 2020.
“In their 12th Action Taken Report (17th Lok Sabha) on the Passenger Reservation System, the Committee expressed a desire for the pre-Covid senior citizen concessions to be reviewed and taken into consideration, at the very least in Sleeper Class and 3A Class, so that the weak and genuinely in needy citizens could take advantage of the service in these classes. The report stated that the Committee “reiterates their earlier recommendation contained in their aforementioned report and urges the Railways to consider sympathetically for the resumption of fare concessions to senior citizens, particularly in Sleeper Class and 3A Class under notification to this Committee.” However, the Railways stated that there were no immediate intentions to resume the concession.