By
Naresh Kumar
Hari Mohan Dubey
Nanda Kumaran M
Mukul Kumar Singh
Manoj Kumar Mahawar
(IRSS(P) 2012)
 Cleanliness
has become priority issue in
Indian Railways.
 Indians
are ready for a Clean India and a
Cleaner Railways.

People stick bills/posters outside trains and
on platforms

Travellers do not flush after using the toilet.
 Using
toilets when the train is stationary.
People spitting on the station/on the
tracks/inside the train.
People defecating in the open at railway
stations and on tracks.
 Railways
does not have adequate
housekeeping staff to clean toilets
 Smoking
in train compartments

Dustbins in compartments are inadequate or not
emptied timely

Rats and Cockroaches are common in
compartments and pantry.

People sleeping on the floor and pathways.

People sleeping on the platforms.

Too large an organization to be managed by
the Government.

Cleanliness standards are very low.

Sense of cleanliness/ hygiene among the
general public is missing.

Lack of accountability of cleaning staff,
faulty/negligent auditing system.

Not enough dustbins on the stations and
inside the train.

Number of people traveling in the trains is
far more than the capacity.

Railways has a very old style of working.

A large population of people is still
uneducated.

Railways caters to a very large population
and it becomes tough to regulate them

Chennai Central was 180 short of the
sanctioned 405 maintenance employees.

In 2014, the number of dustbins in the
station was 28.50 per 10,000 passengers.

Despite the ban on manual scavenging since
1993, men and women continue to manually
remove human waste lying on the tracks in
the Chennai Central Station.
Intensive Mechanized cleaning-high
pressure jet cleaners, floor scrubbers,
vacuum suction cleaners etc. are deployed.
 On Board Housekeeping Scheme
(OBHS):Under OBHS, the cleaning staff will
be on-board. Passengers can call them to
clean the coaches and toilets, if they are
found dirty.
 Disposable Bed Linen.
 Bio-Toilets.


Clean Train Station scheme.

Setting up of mechanized laundries for
washing linen.

Pest and rodent control in trains

No separate dustbins were kept for
degradable and non degradable waste

Both the number of dustbins and vats were
found to be inadequate.

Dustbins were either without lids or were
overflowing.

Dustbins were also found without poly bags
or in a broken condition.

Plastic wastes are not segregated and
disposed properly.

Lack of monitoring to ensure compliance
with statutory obligations and provisions of
contracts

Lack of modern and mechanized approach
towards station cleanliness at small stations.

lack the infrastructure to recycle.

Waste management data are poorly
maintained

No separate Waste Management Cell

A comprehensive waste management policy

Estimation of waste generated in IR

Segregation of bio-degradable and non biodegradable waste

Separate dustbins for bio degradable and non
bio degradable waste

Maintaining accurate data and communicating
information about the environmental benefits
can motivate participation.

Bin Selection and Placement.

Space requirements for waste management or
renovation simplify implementation

State and local governments should offer
recycling assistance to railway stations.

Understand the Littering behavior of public and
take action accordingly.

Motivations to litter

Barriers to proper disposal

Motivations for proper disposal.
Habits, which refer to patterns of behavior which
individuals carry out almost automatically.
Imposition of fines and other measures to deter
people from habit of littering
Adequate number of dustbins put up so that no
one throws garbage on other places.
The lack of dustbins at regular intervals is
prompting the public to litter, making the premises
unclean and unhygienic

Inviting various NGO in cleanliness programs.

Providing them space and fund for recycling
plants for trash generated from various trains
and stations

It will lead to employment generation

E.g. Chintan, Material Recovery Facility at
New Delhi Railway station

Providing RO water plants on
board coaches and stations to
eliminate the plastic waste
generated due to water
bottles.

Save water bottle costs and
provide environmental
benefits

Pure and unlimited drinking
water.

Partially washed or dirty
linens could be replaced
by disposable linens.

Laundry charges could
be saved.

These linens could be
recycled for further use.

Size should be
increased.

Ensuring regular
emptying of dustbin
so that the dustbin
does not overflow.

Dry and Wet waste
dustbins should be
kept in place.

Right Machine For Right
Application
Wet and Dry vacuum
cleaner
 Auto scrubber driers
 Direct Throw Technology
Sweeping machines

 Base
Kitchen should be
setup every 100 km – 150
km interval.
 This
concept would reduce
on board waste generation
due to pantry cars.
 Pantry
cars could be
replaced with passenger
coaches that in turn lead
to revenue generation
A
section should be
earmarked to a
particular vendor.
 He
should be
responsible for the
cleanliness of that
particular section.
 If
he fails to do so,
severe penalty should
be imposed
 Inter
departmental teams should be formed
at every organizational level.
 These
teams should monitor the cleanliness
of railway premises and should be
empowered to levy fine on the person
responsible.
 Organization
head would be responsible for
the formation and he will monitor the
functions of these green teams.
 Means
should be provided on board the train
to register complains from the commuters
electronically.
 fines should be imposed in cases where
complaints are not addressed properly.
 Awareness among the passengers about
grievance cell needs to be increased
 Web Based Real time tracking of staff
 GPS linked attendance
 Photo proof of the clean toilets and coaches
with time and location stamp should be sent
every 3 hours.
 At
major stations, main entry points should
be monitored strictly.
 Access
should be given to the persons with
valid ticket.
 Educate
railway station staff before any plan
is rolled out, meet with the participants. Talk
to vendors, maintenance staff, train staff
and others meet employees face-to-face and
tell them about their role in the program.
 Frequently re-educate the entire staff
regarding the benefits of recycling and how
the program functions in the station.
 Staff meetings, vendor meetings, and regular
face-to-face interactions with the
commuters.
 Educating
customers about the benefits of
recycling reinforces the practice.
 Place
informational signs on or near bins
explaining why recycling is important.
 Nukkad
nataks can also be conducted on
stations to educate people.
 Participation
of NGO's to educate people as
done in Ludhiana railway station.