The Ministry of Home Affairs Guidelines dated May 17, 2020 made installation of Aarogya Setu on “best efforts basis”. However, the Ministry of Railways, Ministry of Civil Aviation, and the Noida Metro Rail Corporation have made Aarogya Setu mandatory for passengers using their services. We wrote to Minister of Railways, Minister of Civil Aviation, and Managing Director, Noida Metro Rail Corporation to consider the installation of Aarogya Setu on voluntary basis. Making the use of the App mandatory for passengers will lead to exclusion of class of people who do not use smartphones.
Read our representation below:
May 20th, 2020
To
Mr. Piyush Goel,
Union Minister
Ministry of Railways
256-A, Raisina Road
Rajpath Area, Central Secretariat,
New Delhi-01
Sir,
Subject: Mandatory installation of Aarogya Setu for railway passengers in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic.
The Ministry of Railways via its tweet dated May 12, 2020 mandated the installation of Aarogya Setu (hereinafter “the App”) for passengers before commencing their journeys. As you might be aware, the Ministry of Home Affairs released its guidelines for Lockdown 4.0 on May 17, 2020 which made the installation of the App to be on “best-effort” basis. Currently, there is a lack of clarity if Aarogya Setu is mandatory or voluntary for rail passengers. We request you to make the installation of Aarogya Setu voluntary on the lines of MHA Guidelines dated May 17, 2020. Making the use of the App mandatory for passengers will lead to exclusion of class of people who do not use smartphones.
Through this letter, we urge you to ensure that the principle of consent and due process is followed while providing rail services to the passengers during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Regards,
Sincerely,
Prasanth Sugathan
Voluntary Legal Director,
SFLC.IN
prasanth@sflc.in
