In a major policy decision, the railways has decided to strip off the Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) from the responsibility of looking after bookstalls on railway platforms across the country. The IRCTC has already lost its primary job of providing catering services on running trains as well as on railway stations following change in the railway catering policy. The railways has been currently maintaining catering services in most of the trains departmentally in all its zones.

According to a Railway Board official, the railways has taken a policy decision to manage bookstalls on railway platforms itself. These bookstalls will now be managed by zonal railways. Besides, the railways in each zone would now take care of bookstalls' proper upkeep to cater to the needs of passengers visiting railway stations every day, he said.

As per a report in ET by Kumod Verma, the railways had handed over management and operation of bookstalls to the IRCTC in 2007 to infuse professionalism in the management of bookstalls on railway platforms across the country. That apart, the IRCTC was empowered to check and stop sale and display of obscene and vulgar books at the bookstalls, sources said.

The Board official admitted that the IRCTC failed to check sale of banned books at stalls on railway platforms. The IRCTC has been sharing the licence fee cost in the ratio 75:25 with the railways for each bookstall. The Corporation was supposed to manage the stalls and provide standard books to the passengers and visitors at the stations.

The decision of the railways to take away bookstalls management from the IRCTC would further deplete IRCTC staff strength, the official said, adding the IRCTC was earning about Rs 2.5 crore annually from licence fee charges from these bookstalls across the country, he said.

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