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S.ravi
Advanced Member
India
4205 Posts |
 Posted - 09/19/2009 : 21:22:01
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Many unaware of ‘Izzat’ railway pass scheme
Only MP or Collector can issue certificates
CHENNAI: The ‘Izzat’ pass scheme seems to have few takers in most parts of the city. Launched in the Railway Budget this year, it seeks to provide poor persons working in the unorganised sector with a monthly railway pass for Rs.25 for a journey of up to 100 km every day.
Y. Aruldoss of the Unorganised Workers’ Federation said that a lot of street vendors in north India had taken advantage of the scheme, but the same had not happened in Tamil Nadu. “A large number of workers remain unaware of the scheme and for most of these workers it is difficult to access the Member of Parliament,” he said.
When contacted, several members of the Unorganised Workers Welfare Board said they were ignorant about the passes being issued at the ticket booking counters.
As per Central government stipulations, only an MP or Collector is authorised to issue certificates to the beneficiaries with which they can get the pass.
So far 2,033 ‘Izzat’ passes have been issued in the Chennai railway division. Enquiries revealed that Tiruvallur MP P.Venugopal recently issued over 2,000 letters of recommendation to several members of the unorganised sector in his constituency. When contacted, he said a number of workers from other constituencies were approaching him as well and he was trying to issue as many letters as possible.
However, Chennai North MP T.K.S. Elangovan said he had hardly issued any such recommendation letters. “Only a few people approached me,” he said. Chennai South MP C. Rajendran said some 50 people had approached him so far for recommendation letters to get the pass.
He said the income limit of Rs.1,500 was too low and if more unorganised sector workers had to benefit from the scheme, this should be raised. People’s Voice president Roy Rosario said if the scheme was not reaching intended beneficiaries it could be misused by those who enjoyed access to politicians, causing loss of revenue for the Railways.
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Many unaware of ‘Izzat’ railway pass scheme
