Thursday, May 16, 2013

Railways: What After Bansal?

Railways: What after Bansal? Two successive regimes of Mamata Banerjee and P K Bansal have hurt and wounded the railways so much that it is now gasping for life. While Mamata has made it financially crippled, Bansal has been instrumental in demoralizing it to the extent that it feels ashamed of its own existence. It was like gang raping the railways. And the government allowed this ordeal of the railways to bear for a week unabated. Mamata’s reckless spending on non-plan activities and transferring money for unapproved, unworkable and visionless projects is no less a misappropriation of railways funds than Bansal’s silently approving of his nephew’s nefarious activities inside Rail Bhavan. It is perhaps for this reason that the CBI has extended the scope of their investigation to Mamata Banerjee’s stint also. What has been the real political intent of the government, in first retaining for a week and then removing Bansal, is best known to the PM and Sonia Gandhi, but the financial and economic exigency demands that the government must start taking immediate measures for railways recovery from the trauma it is suffering. On administrative and moral grounds the railways has to be devotedly and carefully looked after. Like a humming bird the railways has been shot in the mid air by its master. It has fallen and bleeding. It requires love, care and affection of insiders and out siders of the railways who are honest, sincere and sacrificing, to safe guard its honour. The workers and the officers of the railways have shown their anguish in tackling the bribery case and removing Bansal too late. They have shown their resentment towards adopting double standard in corruption cases. If a worker is suspended for taking Rs. 10 as bribe immediately, why so much delay has been done in case of a higher up? The association of officers has distanced itself from Mahesh Kumar who has brought bad name to the cadre. This is perhaps for the first time in the history of railways that such a scandal at the high level has been created. The railways at present is facing the threat of passengers safety. When the corruption is so deep rooted at the high level, who care to take responsibility for the safety of the passengers? Moreover, when the money is channelized in bribery through contractors, the cost of purchasing real equipments for the railways would increase manifold. Poor quality construction work will be done and low category material be used if contractors are made to pay bribe. The railways therefore needs overhauling of the whole system. A war like action has to be taken. The Railway Board must immediately be dissolved for building trust: three posts of members are already vacant and the rest would just be clear within a month or two. In such a situation keeping even the old members would create suspicion. What the Chairman of the Board was doing when such a scandal prevailed in the railways? The Chairman, IRB, be removed on moral ground as has been done in case of Bansal and also because he was catapulted to the post out of turn. A new order must prevail displacing the old that is vitiating the railways. Other financial and administrative changes be bought about so as to set the railways economy in motion. At least preceding four- year period must come under scanner and statutory bodies which can control the minister should be established. The basic problem of the railways is how to control the minister? The railways Ministers from Lalu to Mamata and to Bansal all have worked like autocrats. It seems that only a National Railway Commission for checking corruption, if established, can possibly change the face of the railways. With Bansal now sacked for his alleged role relating to his nephew’s corrupt practices, the railways is in damage-control mode. All India Railwaymen Federation and Association of Railway Officers have shown their solidarity to take steps to check corruption at all levels so that the lost prestige of the railways may be regained. It was shocking for them to learn that such a scandal at the top level was hatched that rocked the railways and shook the spirit of the workers, the staff and the high ups, all alike. The new railway minister C.P. Joshi has stressed on transparency in discharging duties at every level and seeks to build up trust among the 14 Lakh employees of the railways.

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