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CAG Report No. 31 of 2026 (Railways), on passenger amenities and sanitation at non-suburban railway stations, was tabled in Parliament on 12 August 2026.
Of 512 non-suburban stations audited, 458 - more than 89% - fell short on one or more Minimum Essential Amenities; only 54 had them all.
Water samples from water coolers at eight stations across four railway zones tested positive for E. coli, and tap samples at 49 stations were found contaminated.
The audit recorded inadequate latrines at 201 stations, missing or insufficient urinals at 403 stations and missing water taps at 2,035 locations.
Major terminals including CSMT, Howrah, Sealdah, New Delhi and Mumbai Central were among those found deficient.
E. coli is a rod-shaped bacterium of the family Enterobacteriaceae that lives in the intestines of humans and animals. Most strains are harmless and some are useful, but its presence in drinking water is not primarily a warning about E. coli itself - it is evidence that faecal matter has reached the supply, and therefore that any other intestinal pathogen could have reached it too. That is why water-quality standards, including the Bureau of Indian Standards drinking water standard IS 10500, test for it as an indicator organism. Some strains do cause illness directly: Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) damages the lining of the small intestine and causes diarrhoea, and other strains cause urinary tract and respiratory infections. Typical symptoms are fever, persistent or bloody diarrhoea and vomiting, and most infections are self-limiting, with hydration the main line of care.
Simple Analogy: Finding E. coli in a water sample is like finding a footprint in a locked room - the footprint may be harmless, but it proves someone got in.
Supreme audit institution; audits receipts and expenditure of the Union and States and reports to the legislature
Parliamentary committee that examines CAG reports on the Union's accounts and reports its findings to Parliament
The audited entity; prescribes Minimum Essential Amenities for each category of station and is answerable for the gaps
Creates the office of the Comptroller and Auditor General, appointed by the President, with salary and conditions of service not variable to their disadvantage after appointment
Prescribes the duties and powers of the CAG in relation to the accounts of the Union and the States
Requires CAG reports relating to the Union's accounts to be laid before each House of Parliament - the provision under which this report was tabled
The statute that gives detailed effect to the constitutional provisions, including the CAG's six-year tenure or age of 65, whichever is earlier
GS Paper II > Polity: Constitutional bodies, accountability institutions; GS Paper III > Infrastructure: Railways
General Awareness > Indian Polity: Constitutional Bodies; Current Affairs
General Awareness > Indian Railways: Organisation, Amenities and Current Developments
The list of facilities the Railways prescribes for every station of a given category - drinking water, seating, toilets, shelters, fans, signage
An audit that examines whether a programme achieved its objectives economically and effectively, as distinct from checking the regularity of expenditure
A micro-organism whose presence in a sample signals possible contamination by pathogens, without necessarily being the pathogen of concern
A broad group of bacteria tested in water quality assessment; E. coli is the subset that specifically indicates faecal contamination
A station outside the dedicated suburban networks of the metropolitan cities, the category this audit covered