Provide railway concession to HIV patients: HC tells Centre

In a recent case Delhi High Court directed the Centre to take an early decision for granting railway concession to the patients suffering from HIV AIDS as many of them travel to various places for availing treatment. A division bench of Chief Justice M K Sharma and Justice Sanjeev Khanna asked the Central Government to consider on priority basis the proposition for 75 percent railway concession to AIDS patients in the country. "Centre should give concession to HIV affected people as AIDS fall under the category of "chronic deseases" like TB," The court observed while hearing a PIL seeking direction to the Ministry of Railways to provide concession to the patients. The court in its last hearing had directed centre`s counsel to seek instruction from the government over the issue and inform it by today. A PIL was filed by the Delhi network of positive people, an NGO, stating that people suffering from HIV AIDS deserved to travel different HIV centres, set up by National Aides Control Organisation (NACO), to avail Antiretroviral Treatment (ATR) at subsidized rates. Thousands of people in the country are suffering from AIDS and there are seven ATR centres in different states inclduing UP, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, the petitioner said. The patients should get railway concession as they have to travel long distance for the treatment, the petitioner added. The court fixed August 29 as the next date of hearing of the case.