Earmarking of accommodation for On-board Housekeeping Staff (OBHS)
Please refer to Board’s instructions of even number dated 22.02.2013 (Commecial Circular No. 15 of 2013) on the subject quoted above. The issue regarding earmarking of accommodation for OBHS staff has been reviewed and the revised instructions are as under:-
2. It has been decided to earmark two berths/seats for OBHS staff as under:-
(i) Last two side berths/last two seats of the lowest reserved class available in the train should be earmarked for OBHS staff e.g. in the train having Sleeper Class as the lowest accommodation, berths nos. 71 and 72 in S1 coach should be earmarked for them. Similarly, in the trains having AC Sleeper accommodation only, the last two side berths in B-1 coach should be earmarked for OBHS staff.
(ii) The list of trains in which OBHS facility has been provided will be forwarded by Mechanical Department to Commercial Department duly indicating whether this facility is being provided through contractor or through Railway staff. As and when the list is updated owing to addition/deletion of trains from under the OBHS scheme, same will also be intimated by concerned zonal railway’s mechanical department.
(iii)In case of non-Railway OBHS staff, the contractor will be asked to deposit the fare for these berths/seats one month in advance. A flag will be put in the system to confirm whether payment has been received from the contractor or not. Payment will be made by the contractor directly to PRS operator, who would earmark the seats in both the directions for OBHS staff for the period of one month from the date of such payment. In case of OBHS staff not able to board the train, intimation should be given to C&W control, who in turn will inform to Commercial Control so that earmarked berth can be released to normal passengers, if required.
(iv)In the PRS chart the berth would be shown as ‘For OBHS staff’. Name of the OBHS staff are not required to be printed on the chart.
(v)A provision for the cost of this fare will be kept in the contract at the time of calling of tender by Mechanical Department. In case of misuse of these berths/seats established, following shall be done:
a. Concerned OBHS staff will be debarred from the contract and would no longer work as OBHS staff for the entire contract period.
b. In case of misuse of these berths, the penalty of fare equivalent to 10 times the fare of the class for earmarked the berths can be imposed. After three such instances of misuse, the controlling officer should re-consider the penalty and enhance it suitably and also consider termination of the contract.
c. In case of non-turning up of OBHS staff, these berths will be released to RAC/waitlisted passengers and the question of refund of the fare does not arise as the contractor would be lacking in providing the facility for which he has entered into contract with the Railways.
(vi) In case of departmental oBHS staff, D&A action as in case of pass rule shall be initiated.
Indian Railways issued orders regarding the above subject on 07.01.2016
Leave a Reply