The closure of private railway booking agencies have declined the earning of the Pakistan Railways by millions of rupees annually since June 2001, reliable sources told Business Recorder on Sunday.
Private railway booking agencies were working in all major cities, including Peshawar, Rawalpindi, Faisalabad, Multan and Karachi, for decades earning millions of rupees for the bungling-hit Pakistan Railways.
But, all these booking agencies were closed down and the affairs were handed over to the Pakistan Railways Advisory & Consultancy Services (PRACS), a private limited company registered in 1976.
A long list of activities was attached to this company, but, their short-listed activities were providing surveyors, consultants, advisors, designers, architects, builders and engineers etc to the Pakistan Railways.
The company has miserably failed to provide satisfactory performance during last 28 years of functioning.
The company in a bid to cover up its failure prepared a plan in 1987 and
offered its services for the establishment of booking agencies on the pattern of city booking agencies and paved way for opening the first office in the federal capital.
The step was a profitable one for the PRACS and the management of the company, in collaboration with the PR administration, further expanded their offices to Rawalpindi, Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar, Multan, Faisalabad, DI Khan and Quetta.
POLICY VIOLATED: According to the parties affected due to the opening of the booking
agencies, the established policy of the Pakistan Railways to award contract to the lowest bidder was violated in giving licence to PRACS.
A sizeable quota of reserved accommodation has been placed at the disposal of the booking agencies of PRACS without any feasibility report by the concerned divisional superintendent without any justification.
The booking offices, established by PRACS, have miserably failed to utilise the reservation quota so the Railways is suffering a huge loss of rupees.
The private company has also defamed the Pakistan Railways for issuance of fake tickets resultantly the Railways suffered loss in millions of rupees.
WORLD BANK REPORT: Recently, the World Bank in its report has also expressed grave concern over closure of private railway booking agencies in the country and has asked the Railways authorities for their restoration in the best interest of the Railways and passengers as well.
In Peshawar, the private booking agency, established in 1950 in the historical Qissa Khani Bazaar, earned Rs 23.750 million from July 2000 to June 2001, while the PRACS-run office has registered earning of 10.558 million from July 2002 to June 2003.
The figures show that Pakistan Railways has suffered a loss of Rs 13.192 million in one year.
The private railway agency of Rawalpindi, which was established in 1971, and closed in 2001, earned Rs 31.196 million during one year while PRACS earned only Rs 8.403 million.
In Faisalabad private agency, which was established in 1978 and closed in 2001, earned Rs 39.882 million during financial year 2000-2001, while the company earned Rs 30.102 million from July 2002 to July 2003 and the Railways here also suffered a loss of Rs 8.858 million.
In Multan, where the private agency was established in 1973 and was closed down in 2001, earned Rs 32.608 million during the calendar year 2000 as compared to this PRACS agency earned Rs 20.60 million, and the railway suffered loss of Rs 12.548 million.
The private booking agency, established in Saddar Bazaar, Karachi in 1969 and closed down in 2001, earned Rs 71.842 million during May 2000 to April 2001, while PRACS earned Rs 42.977 million for the period from May 2002 to April 2003 here once again the Pakistan Railways suffered a loss of Rs 28.865 million.
The total loss suffered by the Pakistan Railways in only five cities is Rs 86.257 million from 2001 to 2003.
The earning of the railway also includes the 50 per cent increase in the fares. Similarly, 50 per cent new trains have also been introduced but the loss has been raised to 130 million per year.
The decision has not only deprived the Pakistan Railways of earning but have also rendered about 3,000 people jobless leaving passengers at the mercy of the PRACS, which has also indulged in selling of fake railway tickets.
The involvement of PRACS in fraud, black marketing and overcharging from passengers could be proved from the fact that during 1997 hundreds of thousands fake railways tickets were collected from different railway stations throughout the country.
These tickets were issued from PRACS offices and in this connection FIR No 225 dated 12/08/97 under Section 420,468,471 PPC was lodged in a police station at Lahore, but no action was taken and this dirty and disgusting business was carried on.
Then again on 02/08/99 FIR No. 208 under Section 408,420,468,471, PPC was lodged in the same police station.
After hard struggle the police caught culprits, who were involved in this malpractice and a printing press was seized at Shahdara, Lahore, from where these fake tickets were also found. But after a lapse of four years no progress has been made in this connection.
An honest and reputed commercial inspector Muhammad Yaqoob, who had pointed out about the elements involved in dirty practices, was later kicked out of the Pakistan Railways.
In 1993, the Current Reservation and Information Office at Lahore Railway Station was handed over to PRACS by the railway administration on a 4pc commission.
The investigations regarding having commission in purchase of railway engines and bogies, allotting the valuable land of the railways on lease at the cheaper price by misusing his official capacity and without observing all rules and regulations, against retired GM are still in progress and many more cases of corruption and misuse of powers would come to light.
The shameful scenario is that the Ombudsman in 1987 ordered the PR administration to close down railway agencies, which were allotted without following the policy.
In this connection, railway agencies allotted by the then minister of railways without calling tenders through press in Peshawar, Lahore, Sargodha, Karachi and Hyderabad were closed by the railway administration.
The agency owner of Hyderabad filed a writ petition against the ruling of the Ombudsman in Sindh High Court, but, this civil petition (No.D-180 of 1993) was rejected by the Sindh High Court on 22/1/99 & the full bench ordered that "No person, including a minister, is above the law."
In 1987 Wafaqi Mohtasib had directed the Pakistan Railways to call for tenders through press and award the contract of the city booking agencies to the lowest bidder. No appeal was filed against such directions.
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