Mention MRP on all food items in trains: Piyush Goyal

MRP and sale prices should be compulsorily printed on all the food items served to the passengers: Goyal

Following a controversy over a circular of the Railway Board issued last week, listing details to be printed on food packets/casseroles on trains, Railway Minister Piyush Goyal has ordered even the MRP of all food items must be printed, an activist said here on Monday.

The Railway Board's circular had listed details like names of the supplier/contractors, weight/grams, date of packing and distinctive symbol of veg/non-veg food items.

Surprisingly, it failed to include the specification of mentioning the maximum retail price of the food items, compelling Mumbai RTI activist Anil Galgali to lodge a complaint with 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 faux pas 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 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.