Railways (Amendment) Bill, 2014 to amend Railways Act

NEW DELHI: Opposition today targeted the government for its move to amend the definition of 'accidental falling' in Railways Act, a Bill regarding which was taken up for consideration by the Lok Sabha.

The Railways (Amendment) Bill, 2014, is aimed at curbing false claims, which is on the rise, apart from providing clarity on 'accidental falling' to prevent misuse of existing provisions.

Attacking the government for proposing changes to 'accidental falling' definition, Congress member K C Venugopal said the move is "quite objectionable".

"Railways is trying to take decision that is against the will and wish of people," he said and also wondered how it can withdraw from its moral responsibility of providing compensation to rail accident victims.

Initiating the discussion on the Bill, Venugopal narrated an incident in Kerala where a girl lost her life after jumping from a train to escape a rape bid.

Dubbing the Bill as anti-people, Trinamool Congress member Aparupa Poddar said the proposed amendment would make it difficult for poor people to seek claims in case of rail accidents.

She said that an enquiry committee should look into 'accidental falling' cases and ascertain whether it has been caused by negligence or not. There should also be a time frame for giving compensation to the victims, she added.

AIADMK member Panneer Selva said it should be ensured that amendments do not cause more difficulties for passengers.

"Who will decide death happened by negligence (or not)," he wondered and urged the government to look into all issues related to the amendment with all seriousness.

Railway Minister V Sadananda Gowda said the number of false claims has been increasing manifold and the proposed amendments would help to curb such claims.

According to Gowda, even the claims tribunal have observed that there should be more clarity in the Act to curb false claims and accidental falling need to be defined.

Citing statistics, he said the number of claims rose to over 8,150 during 2010-11 from 136 in 1994-95.

During that time, the claims amount jumped to Rs 164 crore from Rs 26 lakh, he added.