A viral social media post asserts that Indian railways spent Rs 68 lakh to catch 169 rats, translating to an expenditure of Rs 41,000 per rat. The post purports that these details were disclosed in response to a Right to Information (RTI) request. Additionally, the post contends that Indian railways, in response to the disclosure, asserted that they were conducting a program aimed at eliminating rodents, which warranted such a substantial expenditure. Through this article let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Indian railways has spent Rs 68 lakh to catch 169 rats, translating to an expenditure of Rs 41,000 per rat.
Fact: The government clarified that the funds were allocated for the elimination of a range of pests including cockroaches, rodents, bed bugs, mosquitoes, and others found in all the coaches maintained within the Lucknow Division. Furthermore, the government revealed that this expenditure encompassed pest control for an annual average of 25,000 coaches, resulting in an approximate cost of ₹94 per coach per year or less than ₹8 per coach per month. Hence, the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
Earlier this week, Times of India also covered this story, stating that an RTI filed by an activist Chandrasekhar Gaur unveiled that the Lucknow division of Northern Railways had disbursed Rs. 69.5 lakh between 2020 and 2022 for the capture of 168 rats, resulting in an average cost of Rs 41,000 per rat. Furthermore, according to the report, the RTI inquiry disclosed that the Central Warehousing Corporation in Gomti Nagar, Lucknow, had been contracted to manage the rodent control efforts since 2019.
Following the reports, the news has started gaining traction online. However, the government refuted the claims, calling the reports misleading. Taking to Twitter, PIB clarified that the expenses were actually related to the extermination of various pests such as cockroaches, rodents, bed bugs, mosquitoes, and more in all the coaches maintained within the Lucknow Division.
Furthermore, the tweet asserted that the expenditure covered pest control for an average of 25,000 coaches annually, equating to approximately ₹94 per coach per year, or less than ₹8 per coach per month. The tweet explicitly labeled the Times of India article mentioned earlier as misleading. Consequently, it can be deduced that expenses associated with the eradication of diverse pests have been erroneously interpreted as expenditures specifically directed toward the elimination of rodents.
To sum it up, costs spent by the Lucknow Division on the extermination of various pests are misconstrued as costs incurred on catching rodents.
