MRP to be printed on all food items sold in trains
After the issue was highlighted, the Railway Board issued a fresh circular incorporating MRP (Representational Image)
Days after the Railway board courted controversy by failing to include MRP in the list of details required to be printed on food items sold in trains, the Railway Minister took cognisance of the issue and ordered officials to add MRP to the list.
The controversy arose last week after the Railway Board issued a circular listing details to be printed on food packets/casseroles on trains.
While the circular listed details like names of the supplier/contractors, weight/grams, date of packing and distinctive symbol of veg/non-veg food items etc, it failed to include the specification of mentioning the maximum retail price (MRP) of the food items.
The omission compelled noted Mumbai-based RTI activist Anil Galgali to lodge a complaint with Railway Minister Piyush Goyal.
“This error or omission could have been grossly misused by the food suppliers/contractors to cheat the gullible passengers consuming those on long-distance trains with limited halts,” Galgali pointed out.
The original circular was issued on September 19 by Additional Member, Tourism and Catering, Sanjiv Garg, which failed to mention the requirement of MRP, he said.
Following the complaint by Galgali, a Mumbai Bharatiya Janata Party member apprised the Railway Minister of the omission and urged rectification of the same.
“Today, the Railway Board has issued a fresh circular, incorporating the suggestion and henceforth the MRP and sale prices should be compulsorily printed on all the food items served to the passengers,” Galgali said.
He also expressed gratitude to Goyal and the Board for intervening in the matter and preventing a possible loot of lakhs of railway passengers by the service providers.
