No Sir, Its not Squaring One, IR is Worse than What it was Before the Fateful Parivartan Sangoshthi Happened, Part-1
Modi ji, Fix responsibility on those who were working without accountability!
With Sixth Gazette Notification on Indian Railway Management Service (#IRMS) on 9th October, 2024 effectively #IndianRailways is back with eight departments and in a situation which is worse than where it was, when the #cabinet-decision of 24th December, 2019 was announced.
Complete #breakdown of #command-structure led to unprecedented fall in #Safety-standards. Senior Officers who own the operations and safety to new recruits to common rail user – every one is anxious and unhappy. What has been achieved? We had time and again alerted the #ministry and the #government.
Effective withdrawal of the decisions on services reorganisation on 09.10.2024, which is seen as a knee jerk reaction similar to the decision to unify the services taken in December, 2019. It is important to trace the #trajectory of the decisions to record the flip flops. #Modi ji alerted the nation against the Khan Market Gang (#KMG), but his railway ministers ended up cozying up with them. We present a multi-part analysis of what it means.
It started with a “#ParivartanSangoshthi” held on 7th and 8th December, 2019 held at New Delhi, which has been described in juicy details by then so-called Advisor Transformation, #SudheerKumar, who after retirement came back as #Advisor to Ashwini Vaishnaw, the Minister for Railways.
The #Shivir had divergent views as many officers who were present in the meeting openly said. However, under cloak of #secrecy, an extraordinary meeting of #RailwayBoard was convened by #VKYadav, then Chairman. This meeting agreed on what now appears to be a pre-prepared draft and the resolution was sent to the cabinet. Decision of the cabinet was notified by, #PIB Notification 24th December, 2019, “Cabinet Approves Transformational Organisational Restructuring of Indian Railways”.
The #notification surprised many, the entire content, tone and tenor of the meeting was way different from what was presented to the cabinet. It was mentioned that the Railway Board’s resolution contained the consensus reached by the #Railway officers in the shivir. Nothing can be farther from truth, many senior officers who attended the shivir say. Close watchers saw this as ploy and play of Sudheer Kumar who headed #Transformation Directorate, another brain child of his. This was then confirmed by what he wrote in #autobiography, “Never a Bystander”. This was classic Principal Agent Problem in play. Please read once again this article of January 31, 2024 – “Moral Hazard and Principal Agent Problem of Indian Railways!”
What Did Cabinet Decide
Cabinet recognised #departmentalism as key problem which was coming in way of the progress of #railways and as proposed by the Railway Board, decided to create a unified service called Indian Railways Management Service. The modalities and unification of the #Services were to be worked out in consultation with #DoPT and the approval of Alternate Mechanism appointed by Cabinet in order to ensure #fairness and #transparency.
What followed was everything but transparent and fair as under cloak of secrecy, career of several hundred officers was butchered resulting a scenario where the general managers in general are junior to most of their #PHODs, many #Members were junior to their General Managers and Additional Members. A hierarchical organisation which always ran on #seniority was given a body blow from which system could not recover.
New System Fails, Before Taking Off
It has been repeatedly mentioned that problem of #Departmentalism has been in #RailwayBoard not at the #Zones, #Divisions or for that matter at #RDSO. While Sudheer Kumar sold departmental biases as core to the ills of Indian Railways, he as advisor of Transformation Directorate and as advisor to the minister did not get a member of the reconstituted board from outside the departmental lines. Without exception Member Finance (#MF) continued to be held by the #IRAS, Member Operations & Business Development (#MOBD) remained with #IRTS, #IRSE occupied position of Member Infrastructure (#MInfra), Member Traction & Rolling Stock (#MTRS) remained with #IRSEE or #IRSME. Problem continued at railway board unabated proving where the real problem lay. Why was this difficult? Several decisions accompanied by extensions, post retirement sinecures stink of unethical conduct.
So the real #transformation where problem really lie was just change of designations of the board members.
To quote from the press brief, “Unification of services will end ‘departmentalism’, promote smooth working of Railways, expedite decision making, create a coherent vision for organisation and promote rational decision making”:
This #reform has been undertaken with the overwhelming support and consensus of Railway officers, at a two-day conference “Parivartan Sangoshthi” held in Delhi on 7th and 8th December, 2019. To act on this sentiment, and create confidence in Railway officers that their suggestions are valued, Railway Board held an Extraordinary meeting of the Board during the conference on 8th December, 2019 itself, and recommended a number of reforms including the ones mentioned.
It is now proposed to create a unified Group ‘A’ service called “Indian Railways Management Service” (#IRMS) from the next #recruitment cycle. Creation of the new service will be done in consultation with #DoPT and #UPSC to facilitate recruitment in the next recruitment year. It will enable Railways to recruit engineers/non-engineers as per need, and offer equality of opportunity to both categories in career progression. The #modalities and #unification of the services will be worked out by the Ministry of Railways in consultation with DoPT with the approval of Alternate Mechanism to be appointed by Cabinet in order to ensure fairness and transparency. The process shall be completed within a year.
Founded on pretentious and fallacious grounds, it was time that the #Scheme becomes undone. Creating position of an Establishment Officer (#EO) and posting a #Chela, secrecy was ensured. Under cloak of this secrecy, unadapted to Indian populace, a test for #Emotional Intelligence was made mandatory. The test was conducted by PhD guide of Sudheer Kumar, the #architect of this opaque process first as Advisor (Transformation), later as Advisor to the Minister for Railways.
Seeds of Manipulation
Introduction of multi-source feedback or 360 degree review (Para-4, Annex-1 of Railway Board’s resolution published in Gazette of India on 27.05.2022) by Expert Panel (Para-2, Annex-1) along with consideration of EQ based on an opaque process (Para-5, Annex-1) sowed seeds of unethical and opaque promotion process.
No details of scope of work of single tender by which services of a foreign agency was procured for measurement of #EQ have been put in the public domain. We highlighted the #conflict-of-interest as the this test was administered by the Indian Representative of the company given order on single tender basis, who was PhD guide of Sudheer Kumar who was commonly known to be the force behind these changes. The autobiography of Sudheer Kumar is the smoking gun #evidence, however, for inexplicable reasons, no investigation has been carried out.
Least that Needs to be Done: Modi ji, Fix responsibility on those who were working without accountability!
However, these #machinations which were contrary to the cabinet decision as published by the PIB were notified in the #Gazette of India which promised that process will be #transparent and #fair.
It is time that government distance from the decisions #KMG took and publish a #WhitePaper to give sense of closure to officers who saw their careers trampled. Those officers who pushed these ‘reforms’ which had to be withdrawn so embarrassingly need to be taken up under FR 56(J).
Dear reader, you may see our #report dt. 08.12.2019 which we #published on the concluding day of Parivartan Sangoshthi – “32 Rly officers prematurely retired on grounds of inefficiency, doubtful integrity & conduct unbecoming of a public servant”. Continued…