The Hindu : Railways adopting double standards in compensation disbursal?

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Tuesday, Jun 03, 2003

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Railways adopting double standards in compensation disbursal?

By Sarabjit Pandher

CHANDIGARH JUNE 2. Since May this year Punjab has witnessed four major mishaps involving trains, including the fire disaster in Ludhiana where 36 people lost their lives. As usual, along with the detailed investigations into the causes of the tragedies, the authorities announced a series of "rescue and relief'' measures. But are these commitments fulfilled? Are there different parameters for separate classes of passengers adopted by the Railways to calculate the amount payable as compensation and then disburse it?

The miserable plight of the next of kin killed in previous train disasters, who have been involved for years in litigation to seek compensation announced, has only exposed the apathetic attitude of both the Union Railways and the Punjab Government. Relatives of those killed in the train accidents at Khanna in November 1998, Sirhind in December 2000 and the bomb blast in the Dhanbad Express near Doraha in March 2002, still await settlements of their claims in the regional Railway Claims Tribunal and different courts.

The attitude of the Railways authorities is quite intriguing. In the Rajdhani Express accident of September 9, 2002, a majority of the cases had been settled by January this year. The victims in that case were from the better off sections of society, while the victims in the accidents in Punjab were mainly from the "lesser fortunate'' sections. There are cases where the Railways would like to work out the "earning capacity'' of the victim to calculate the compensation as compared to the uniform disbursement of Rs. 4 lakhs in the Rajdhani case.

In the Khanna train crash as many as 212 people lost their lives. According to a Chandigarh-based advocate, Hardesh Goyal, who has been contesting cases for many relatives of the deceased, as many as 80 per cent await ex gratia payments of Rs. 50,000 per victim, announced by the then Chief Minister, Parkash Singh Badal.

After waiting for some time, relatives of some victims filed petitions before the Punjab and Haryana High Court, where the State Government, after three years of the accident admitted that Rs. 1 crore had been deposited for disbursement with the Deputy Commissioner (DC) of Ludhiana district.

But when Saranlal Kukreja of Dehra Dun, who had lost his wife and son in the accident, approached the Deputy Commissioner of Ludhiana, he was told that the payment had been forwarded to the DC of Dehra Dun. The State Government in its reply before the High Court adopted this stance. However, when Kukreja approached the DC of Dehra Dun, he was informed that no such payment had ever arrived. While the Punjab Government has decided not to reply to any related communication from the relatives of the victims, people like Kukreja have thought it wise not approach the High Court again as it would add financial burden apart from opening the wounds. Goyal says there many more like Kukreja, who have given up hope.

The story of three women who were widowed in the December 2000 accident near Sirhind involving the Amritsar-bound Howrah Express is equally heart-rending. Batana Devi and Nirmala of Rae Bareilli and Kanti Devi of Ghazipur lost their husbands. They have yet to receive the compensation amounts, while their cases are since pending before the regional Railways Claims Tribunal (RCT). The Railways here have been arguing that the deceased were not bona fide passengers, hence not liable for compensation.

However, the relatives of these victims point out that the Railway Board in a circular to the General Managers dealing with claims all over the country way back in May 1996 had directed that payment of compensation be made "irrespective of whether bona fide authority to travel has been produced or not.''

Then three persons were killed when an explosive device went off in the Dhanbad Express near Doraha on the night of March 13, 2002. Among those killed was the 25-year-old Jai Durga. His father Radhey Chaudhary, who looks much older than his 55 years, has neither received the compensation from the Railways nor the ex gratia announced by the Chief Minister, Amarinder Singh. The Railways paid an ex gratia of Rs 15,000 as against the announcement of Rs. 25,000.

Radhey Chaudhary requires at least Rs. 4,000 for four days to travel from his Surajpur village in Gaya district of Bihar. He has come to Chandigarh four times since his son died. Every time he has to raise a loan at exorbitant rates of interest, which accounts for accumulation of Rs. 40,000 as debt. But each hearing at the RCT lasts not more than 30 minutes. Similar is the case of the 28-year-old Shiv Kumari of Aurangabad and Shiv Sampat of Sidhi in Madhya Pradesh who lost their husband and wife, respectively.

After not having received any proper reply from the State Government, the three moved the Punjab State Human Rights Commission (PSHRC) to direct the State Government to pay the ex gratia. The State Government's reply could not be more indifferent. It said that it was not aware under which head had the Chief Minister made the announcement. Secondly, there were no adequate amount in the Chief Minister's Relief Fund to make the payment of Rs 3 lakhs and finally it was yet to receive the inquiry report from the DC of Ludhiana, who was to probe the incident.

Relatives grieve that while the State Government was apathetic and the Railways had adopted double standards, the RCT was inadequately staffed. The Railways do not appoint judicial and technical members to the Tribunal in time, nor are the inquiries time-bound, and advocates adopt tactics which often delay settlements. Suggestions for changing rules for appointment and tenure of the members of the tribunals continue to be ignored.

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Railways adopting double standards in compensation disbursal?