Out come of PIL on Railway Concession

[Guest guest]

Dear All,

A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) demanding raiwaly concession for People

Living with HIV/AIDS, titled, Delhi Network of Positive People & Anr. versus

Union of India & Ors, was filed before the Delhi High Court by Human Rights Law

Network (HRLN) on behalf of Delhi Network of Positive People and Love Life

Society.

This petition was filed in March 2007 calling upon the Government to include

People living with HIV/AIDS in the category of ‘chronically ill persons’ for

railway travel concessions.

The petition was filed under Article 14 and 21 of the Constitution. Given that

the Supreme Court has held in a plethora of judgments that every person in the

country, apart from having the right to life under article 21, has the right to

health.

Therefore, the Government are constitutionally obligated to ensure the same to

all the persons residing in the country, including positive persons, who cannot

be deprived of access to travel and medication in order to treat their

condition. Lacking in access to the anti-retroviral treatment, people living

with HIV/AIDS cannot attain their highest standard of physical and mental

health.

Lack of adherence to the anti-retroviral treatment can result in the development

of drug resistant. While these drugs are provided free of cost by the Government

in the ART centres of each state, there were a maximum of two ART centres

dispensing ARV drugs in states as large as Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh and one

in Orissa. Nevertheless, the drugs are not always available at these centres

and most of the time there exists a shortage of supply or an interruption in

supply in certain areas. This thereby forces the positive people to travel to

neighbouring states for life-saving dosages of ARV drugs.

While NACO has highlighted that the majority of people living with HIV/AIDS in

India are from rural areas (57% in 2005), most of the time rural people cannot

travel to the districts where the ARV drugs are dispensed as the travel costs

are too high.

Furthermore, once the HIV positive person has registered himself/herself in one

particular centre, then treatment will only be provided at that centre.

When a positive person moves to another state, he/she must return to this centre

every month if life itself is to be maintained. As a tremendous number of

positive people belong to the poor and under-privileged members of society,

travel costs are of critical significance. Thousands of HIV positive people

faced with the high travel costs to and from the ART centres are often forced to

forgo treatment in order to feed themselves and their families.

While the Indian Railways provide a discount of 75% on the cost of tickets

bought by those suffering from “chronic and incurable” diseases. This

concession is extended to those suffering from the likes of tuberculosis,

thalassemia, leprosy and cancer. People travelling for surgery are also given

concessions. Heart patients alone or with escort (for both) are given 75%

concession. Kidney patients travelling for transplant dialysis are also given a

75% concession.

Furthermore, the railways have been providing concessions to unemployed youths,

farmers and widows of defence personnel. Such concessions were announced in the

Railway Budgets for 2003-04, 2004-05 and 2005-06. In travelling to Delhi from

states such as Bihar, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Maharashtra,

positive people have to incur a minimum cost of Rs. 1000 each time that they

seek to receive treatment.

The petitioner therefore sought the extension of the 75% concession offered to

those suffering from illnesses such as tuberculosis, cancer and leprosy, to

PHLAs.

The Hon'able High Court ordered a meeting between Ministry of Health and the

Railway Ministry to consider the issues on 11th October, 2007.

Mr. Lallu Prasad Yadav, Ministry of Railway, announced 50% concession for PLHAs

in the 2008 budget session.

In Soldarity,

Dipika Jain

HIV/AIDS Initiative,

Human Rights Law Network,

New Delhi.

e-mail: <dipikajain@...>