Rajasthan Legislative Assembly Members (Free Railway Travelling Facilities) Rules, 1970

The Rajasthan Legislative Assembly Members (Free Railway Travelling Facilities) Rules, 1970

Published vide Notification No. F.3 (3) Vidhi/ 70, dated June 12, 1970

RJ548

In exercise of the powers conferred by section 11 read with section 8B of Rajasthan Legislative Assembly (Officers and Members Emoluments and Pension) Act, 1956 (Rajasthan Act 6 of 1957), the State Government hereby makes the following rules, namely:-

1. Short title and commencement.- (1) These rules may be called the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly Members (Free Railway Travelling Facilities) Rules, 1970.

(2) they shall come into force at once.

2. Definitions.- In these rules, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context:-

(a) "Act" means the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly Members (Officers and Members Emoluments and Pension) Act, 1956 (Rajasthan Act 6 of 1957);

(b) "Assembly" means the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly;

[(c) "Secretary" means the secretary, Rajasthan Legislative Assembly and includes any officer of the said Assembly, specially empowered by the Speaker to perform the functions of the Secretary under these rules.]

3. Free Rail travel facility to be provided.- Every member shall be provided by the Secretary' with non-transferable rail travel coupons entitling the member to obtain lieu thereof railway tickets for him and for [not more than any two other persons]accompanying him for travelling throughout the territory of India at any time and by any Indian Railway subject to the monetary limit laid down in section 8B of the Act.

[4. Arrangement of coupons and refund. - The necessary arrangements for requisition of coupons from the Railway Administration, for the issue of coupons to the members, for the return of unused coupons to the railway administration within the period specified in sub-rule (1) of rule 21 and for obtaining refund arising from the return of unused coupons and on unused or partially used tickets shall be made by the Secretary.]

5. Requisition of rail travel coupons.- (1) The requisition for rail travel coupons shall be made by the Secretary on the General Manager, Western Railway, Bombay.

(2) On receipt of such a requisition the said Railway Administration will supply rail travel coupons books which can be used for travel throughout the territory of India on any Indian Railway by the members of the Assembly and [not more than any two other persons] accompanying such member and raise the necessary debit against the Rajasthan State Government.

6. Money value rail travel coupons book will be available.- [(1) Money value rail travel coupons shall be available in books. Each coupon book shall contain the money value coupons as under:-

(2) Each coupons book shall be numbered with the book number and the coupons number in serial order.

7. Availability of coupon book.- A coupon book may be issued from any date [by the railway administration] and it shall be valid for use for three years from the date of issue.
8. Coupons not transferable.- (1) The coupons shall not be transferable and shall be used only for journeys by the person in whose favour they are issued.

(2) In the event of the person ceasing to be a member of the Assembly, the coupon book shall be returned by him to the Secretary.

9. Issue of coupons.- (1) The coupons shall be issued to a member by the Secretary. Ordinarily a member shall not be issued coupons for more than Rs. [2000/-] but on special request made by the member, the Secretary may issue coupons for more than Rs. [2000/-] to the total limit of Rs.[50,000/-]. Fresh coupons shall be issued to a member after the Secretary is satisfied that the coupons previously issued to such member have been used by him or returned by him to the Secretary under the next following sub-rule:

[Provided that a member shall also be entitled reimbursement of actual travelling fare on producing of ticket bill in his own name but total amount of fare including amount of travelling coupons utilised by him. shall not exceed Rs.50,000/-(Rs. Fifty thousand) in a calendar year.]

10. Form of certificate.- Each coupon book will contain the following certificate:-

"I hereby certify that Shri/ Shrimati/ Kumari .................. is member of the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly and tickets may be issued in exchange of the rail travel coupons for journeys to be undertaken by him and [not more than any two other persons] accompanying him to travel throughout the territory of India.

Seal

Secretary to Rajasthan Legislative Assembly."

11. Availability.- A coupon book will be available for use only by the Members whose name is specified on the coupon book. The name of the member concerned should be filled by the Secretary before the book issued by him to the member.
12. Undertaking by member.- The member using the coupon book shall fill in an undertaking in the following form which will be printed on the cover on every coupon book:-

"I ................. hereby declare that the free railway travel facility will be used by me and by [not more than any two other persons] accompanying me for journey undertaken throughout the territory of India and admissible to me under section 8B of the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly Members (Officers and Members Emoluments and Pension) Act, 1956 and the rules framed thereunder.

Signature of the Member."

The said undertaking shall be got filled before the book is handed over to the member by the Secretary.

13. Method of purchasing tickets with coupons.- (1) The coupon book shall be presented by the member undertaking the journey to the Booking Clerks without detaching any coupon from the book. Loose coupons i.e. coupons detached from the book will not be accepted in any circumstances.

(2) The Booking clerk will personally remove from the book number of coupons necessary for the journey. To guard against impersonation, the booking clerk may ask the holder of the coupon book to show his identity card and to write his/her signature on a piece of paper to compare it with the signature in the coupon book. In cases, where coupons in excess of those actually required are detached from a coupon book by a booking clerk, a suitable remark shall be made by the booking clerk on the back of the coupon "wrongly detached" and such loose coupon shall be accepted when presented for the issue of a ticket, provided:-

(a) the coupon book from which the coupons have been detached, is produced, and

[(b) the calendar year for which the coupon book was issued by the Secretary has not expired.]

(3) In exchange for the coupon, the Booking clerk will issue single journey ticket as may be required, scoring out the fare printed thereon and writing on the reverse of the ticket in red ink the words "R.T. Coupons for members only" and on the [other ticket or tickets], if issued "R.T. Coupons [for person or persons] accompanying the member only".

Explanation. - If rail travel coupons from two different books issued in favour of the same member are presented for issue of tickets, they shall be accepted.

14. Identity of members.- A member when travelling with the ticket issued to him under rule 13 shall keep with him his identity card containing his photograph duly attested by the Secretary and produce the same when demanded by the Railway Authorities.
15. Availability of tickets issue on rail travel coupons.- The date and period of availability of the tickets will be the same as for ordinary tickets.
16. Pilgrims & terminal taxes.- When issuing tickets in exchange for rail travel coupons for journey to and from stations and at which pilgrim or terminal taxes are leviable, the pilgrim or terminal taxes must be collected in cash from the person presenting the coupon. The amount of the tax so collected must be entered on the face of the tickets.
17. Luggage.- Free allowance of luggage as for ordinary tickets will be allowed. Excess over the free allowance will be charged at luggage rates and to the amount recovered in cash.
18. Unexchanged coupons.- A member, *[or any other person accompanying him] found travelling on unexchanged coupons will be considered as Travelling without ticket and will be liable to the penalties prescribed in any law for the time being in force. In such cases, fares and excess charges shall be paid in cash.

[19. Use of coupons - The money value coupons shall be accepted towards payment of fare of the ticket, reservation fees. Supplementary charges on super fast trains and Sleeper surcharges for sleeping accommodation only. Coupons cannot in any circumstances be accepted towards payment of any other charges such as luggage charges and the like.]

20. Confiscation of coupons.- The Railway administration which issued a coupon book confiscate it on proof that the conditions on which it has been issued have not been observed. Before doing so, it should refer the matter to the Secretary and obtain his approval for such confiscation.

[21. Refunds. - (1) No refund will be allowed on unused coupons unless the unused coupons are returned to the General Manager, Western Railway, Bombay within a period of one month after the expiry of their period of validity under rule 7. On unused coupons, the value of which shall be calculated on proportionate cost basis, refund shall be allowed after deducting 10% of the amount refundable.

(2) If a member or any other person accompanying him does not use or partially uses ticket issued in exchange for coupons and returns the unused or partially used ticket to the booking clerk of the railway concerned, the booking clerk shall send refund slip of the amount refundable in accordance with the railway rules for the time being in force to the Secretary. The amount for which the refund slip is received by the Secretary under this sub-rule shall be credited in the coupon account of the member concerned. Subject to the railway rules, refund shall be admissible on the unused or partially used tickets on the presentation of the refund slips to the General Manager, Western Railway, Bombay by the Secretary within three months of the expiry of each calendar year.

(3) Refunds shall in all cases be made only to the Secretary.]

[22. Alternative facility. - A member may, on account of nonavailability of the coupons certified by the Secretary, claim travelling allowance to the extent of fare paid in respect of journeys actually performed by him and by [not more than any two other persons] accompanying him subject to the monetary limit provided in section 8B of the Act.]