Railways disaster management plans not comprehensive: CAG

The Comptroller and Auditor
General of India today said the disaster management plans of
Railways are "not comprehensive" and there are shortcomings
in its safety plan.
Disaster management plans, though broadly framed in zonal
railways and in divisions, are not comprehensive, lacked
uniformity and also did not adhere to the provisions of
the Disaster Management Act 2005, the CAG said in its latest
report.
The CAG said safety inspections were not conducted on
regular basis.
"There were no definite schedules of inspection with all
divisions not being equally covered. Many of the shortcomings
noticed during the previous safety audit (conducted by
Railways) remained unattended," said the report tabled in the
Parliament.
The CAG observed deficiencies in all zones in provision of
Self-Propelled Accident Relief Trains (SPARTs), Accident
Relief Trains (ARTs), Accident Relief Medical Vans (ARMVs) and
equipment provided therein.
The national auditor said the ARTs and ARMVs were located
in the yard which was not easily accessible.
It has also found that the Integrated Security System was
not fully implemented over 202 vulnerable stations identified
by the Railways even after more than four years.
Surveillance mechanism was also inadequate at vulnerable
and crowded stations, it said.
Provision for recovery and relief during golden hour was
not adequate as Accident Relief Trains never reached the
accident site within that time, the report said.
The CAG said most of the Central and Divisional Hospitals
in Railways did not prepare their Disaster Management Plans to
address a situation like fire, explosion, flood and
earthquake.
The status of progress of training imparted to frontline
staff indicated that Indian Railways is not serious in
developing their skills to deal with emergency, it noted.
The CAG further said Research, Designs and Standards
Organisation (RDSO) did not identify vulnerable buildings,
locations, rail infrastructure including bridges, sensitive
locations etc. required under Indian Railway Disaster
Management Plan 2009.