Trains parked at the Gauhati Railway Station in Guwahati.
The Ministry of Railways has extended its Covid-19 guidelines for six months or till further instructions.
The new order reads, "not wearing masks on railway premises and in trains can attract a fine of up to Rs 500."
According to an order issued by the board, the penalty was supposed to be in place till September but has now been extended for another six months.
Through an order issued on April 17, the Railway Board had informed the zones to ensure that everybody wore face masks or face covers on railway premises, including trains.
It had asked the zones to impose fines up to Rs 500 under the Indian Railways (Penalties for Activities Affecting Cleanliness at Railway Premises) Rules, 2012 on those found without such masks.
The penalty shall be imposed by authorised railway officials, it had said in the order.
"Now, the matter has been reviewed and it has now been decided that the validity of the said instruction is further extended by six (6) months i.e. up to 16.04.2022 or till further instructions issued in this regard," the Railway Board's order issued on Thursday said.
Post lockdown, railways has been gradually increasing the services of its trains be it passenger, express or Rajdhanis.
Earlier, the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday approved Productivity Linked Bonus (PLB) equivalent to 78 days' wages for the financial year 2020-21 for all eligible non-gazetted railway employees, excluding the Railway Protection Force and the Railway Protection Special Force personnel.
Briefing the media after the Cabinet meeting, Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur said that the financial implication of payment of 78 days' PLB to railway employees has been estimated to be Rs.1984.73 crore. And 11.56 lakh non- gazetted employees will be benefited with this decision and are expected to be motivated for working towards improving the performance of the Railways.
The maximum amount payable per eligible railway employee is Rs 17,951 for 78 days.
The payment of the PLB to eligible railway employees is made each year before the Dussehra holidays. It will be implemented before the holidays this year as well.
Railways was the first ministry of the central government where the concept of PLB was introduced in 1979-80 which was evolved in consultation with the two recognized federations namely, All India Railwaymen's Federation and National Federation of Indian Railwaymen and with the approval of the Cabinet. The scheme envisages a review every three years.
The main consideration at that time was the important role of the Railways as an infrastructural support in the performance of the economy.
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