Whistle Blower Raises Serious Question on another of Vaishnaw’s Favourite: Emergence of New Sudheer Kumar
Dear Readers, we bring this article to you with lot of pain. We began with very high hopes when Mr Ashwini Vaishnaw replaced Mr Piyush Goyal. But we once again report with a broken heart and dashed hopes
In past few years we broke the story on Advisor to the MR, #SudheerSense, Khan Market Gang (#KMG) and All India Delhi Service (#AIDS), and how they have been the #blood-sucking-parasites of Indian Railways. We also explained how a small group of officers have been real beneficiaries and real manipulators-we explained how #political-leadership suffered while the #AIDS & #KMG survived.
Rank #incompetence and #corruption was exposed when we explained how #SudheerSense led #IndianRailways in to Greenfield Locomotive factories inflicting avoidable expenditure of more than ₹50,000 crores. We kept reporting about #corrupt-extortive network of #Vigilance-trimurti of #AshokKumar-#RKRai and #RKJha. Despite the fact that Mr. Jha had extremely serious charges of corruption that led to his summary transfer out of #RailwayBoard, he was rehabilitated, promoted and after retirement, like RK Rai, continues to be in #Govt-employment through a #PSU.
Ep72: गलत लोगों को प्रश्रय देने से मंत्री की छवि पर आ रही आँच!
The story of #Ganesh-#Bharati continues to defy any explanation. They continue to get promotions and deputations. Arrest of PHODs, DRMs raise serious doubts on #competence and #probity of the #Railway vigilance department. On one hand entire Vande Bharat team of #ICF was run down with false vigilance cases, on the other hand, Ganesh-Bharti cases are yet to be even investigated while PHODs and DRMs are picked by #CBI.
What defies logic is that just this #trimurti between themselves, spent more than twenty years in vigilance department, despite their rank incompetence and viciousness exposed in #VandeBharat case, they continue to be rewarded. These extended periods gave them opportunity to create deep networks which span many #ZonalRailways, #RailwayBoard, #CVC and other #government departments.
It was for this very reason that we argued for total tenures in vigilance to be capped. Our old readers would recollect how a certain supervisor (#PWI) from #NERailway was taken to Northern Railway and then to Railway Board. One of the Trimurti almost succeeded to push him in CVC, but following our exposure of how norms were being violated, this supervisor was reverted to parent cadre. However, the Trimurti heavily influenced postings of several CVOs and DyCVOs in ZRs and PUs, and they continue inflicting serious damage. Here we must remind our readers about how a certain CVO of #RDSO was a defaulter and was successfully managed and posted after getting approval of CRB & Minister-that too, after our exposure, he was shifted by taking a written request to save the face, and after that given safe VRS.
Modus operandi of Jha-Rai was taken to new heights by Ashok Kumar. Fact that Ashok Kumar got assignment of #CVO of #DoT (Department of Telecommunications) raise serious question on the intention of the Minister’s cell or perhaps the minister himself. How can Mr. Ashwini Vaishnaw reward the officer who ruined the career of several officers of #ICF’s Vande Bharat team? It is learnt that he was able to take another of his batch mates to a PSU under the Department of Telecommunications. Like RK Rai, Ashok Kumar & his batchmate, they never worked in a post where they got #experience of decision making.
When such #corruption & #manipulation gets condoned, or worse supported, situations get still worse. Other manipulative officers get further emboldened.
How, then Member Operations & Business Development (#MOBD) gave herself a post-retirement sinecure by getting herself interviewed by her own subordinates will be remembered as colossal failure of Chairman/Railway Board (#CRB) and #Minister for Railways. Emboldened, this #MOBD also manipulated to get her #husband a role in a railway PSU! Failure of #MR, #CRB and #Vigilance leaves open ground for the corrupt and manipulators.
In, “Fall from Grace-Who is vetting officers doing 360 degree evaluation?”, we exposed how MD/CRIS recently appointed a battery of #advisors which include two retired CRBs and two Members. It was learnt that this was a ploy to get all retired officers who can possibly do 360 degree review of the MD/CRIS to be in the employment of #CRIS.
What made the issue serious is the fact that current MD/CRIS is extremely close to Mr Ashwini Vaishnaw, the current MR. It is well known that at instructions of Mr Vaishnaw the post of CRIS was kept vacant and after completing tenure of #DRM/MMCT, Mumbai, Mr Satya Kumar was made the MD/CRIS.
Serious Issue with MR’s advisors
#SudheerKumar, aka #Tenderman is a metaphor, railwaymen say. The extent of damage he inflicted actually makes him a phenomenon. Impartial enquiry will produce a report which would become a compulsory read by all government employees and ministers on how #toxic a person can be. It appears that this favourite officer of #MR is taking same path in #CRIS.
There is hence a case that the #PrimeMinister gets minister’s team of his favourites examined by an impartial team. The way #SeemaKumar, #Ganesh, #RPBharati, #SudheerKumar, #RKJha, #RKRai, and #AshokKumar have been protected and promoted raises serious doubts on the intent of top two offices of Indian Railways.
Extent of corruption has emboldened the corrupt to the point that railways is possibly sitting over its own #Vyapam scam (more on that soon).
Whistle Blows
The #torrent of information we are getting is very troubling. We reproduce following inputs we have received from a #whistleblower on #CRIS. It is our practice to share the information first with the executive so that they can correct without any embarrassment. But, we now have serious doubts on the intent of IR’s top given the pattern of protection to the corrupt and manipulators.
From the Whistle Blower: Questions on which Enquiry and clarification is needed
- Appointment of ex-CEO & Chairperson, Railway Board Ms. #JayaVarmaSinha as a consultant in CRIS vide CRIS O/O No. 478/2024 dated 18.11.2024. It is pertinent to highlight that Ms Jaya Varma Sinha has been debarred from taking an appointment for 3 years vide #DoPT Order Dated 07.11.2024. This is a clear violation of orders of the appointment committee of the cabinet (#ACC). An inquiry should be ordered and appropriate action should be taken against MD/CRIS.
- Similarly, MD/CRIS has appointed 5 other retired Railway Board members in exchange for their support to him in his empanelment in Level-16 of #IRMS. This is not just a violation of Govt. of India guidelines but it is gross misconduct and a case of probable corruption.
- MD/CRIS has floated #tenders worth more than ₹18,000 crores in the last one year. Interestingly, most of the tenders don’t have a go-ahead (or sanction) from the Railway Board. These tenders suffer from gross overestimation to favour some suppliers. For instance, the recent CCTV tender for coaches roughly estimates an expenditure of around 50 lakhs per coach for CCTV fitment. While the most advanced CCTV systems don’t cost more than 1-2 lakh per CCTV, so for even 8 CCTV, the overall cost should not exceed 16 lakhs per coach even with the most advanced CCTV systems.
- Promotions from Level 12 to Level 13 and from Level 13 to Level 13-A without following Govt guidelines. Hundreds of CRIS engineers, many after giving bribes, have been promoted without due procedure. As per Govt. guidelines, any Society or autonomous bodies are supposed to get approval from the concerned #Ministry before such large-scale #recruitment to promotions. No such procedure was followed.
- MD/CRIS has pressurised CRIS officials to condone the delay #penalty of many firms amounting to crores of rupees. The cases of condonation of delay penalty in CRIS in the last one year need to be inquired.
- MD/CRIS has also colluded with some officials regarding issuing tenders for open-source systems/databases/ services in the name of proprietary software/licenses. These amount to crores of rupees. A #technical-inquiry regarding the purchase of licenses in CRIS in the last one year needs to be done.
- A large number of failed projects where an expenditure of hundreds of crores has been booked are being hidden by CRIS under Mr Satyakumar. Projects like route optimization, CRIS cloud, CPLEX licences, etc are being procured without much utilization. A report on outcomes should be sought from CRIS regarding the large-scale procurement of products and services.
- Large number of #single-tenders in the last one year without following the due process of Proprietary Article Certificate (#PAC).
- An inquiry into how many officers and engineers were sent on #foreign-trips from CRIS in the last one year vs. the last 5 years. And have any sanctions from the Railway Ministry sought for booking huge expenditure on foreign trips to Las Vegas, USA and Europe? These trips are offered to officials who are ready to collude with Mr #Satyakumar as a #bribe. No proper procedure for the selection of officials for foreign trips is followed nor any sanction is sought from the Railway Ministry.
- CRIS has entered a new phase of excessive estimation, for example, its project on the #SuperApp. An independent inquiry should be conducted regarding projects like Super App and the estimate vs. deliverables. There is a huge embezzlement of funds on account of over-estimation. Other projects like FOIS 2.0, Route Optimisation, GOAL, etc should be looked into.
PM Sir, Why this is Extremely Serious?
Condonation of activities of MD/CRIS has undermined the confidence of users in CRIS.
CRIS handles IR’s complete procurement which goes almost upto ₹70,000 crore every year. There are murmurings that one particular officer is having access to the very heart of servers hosting the #stores purchases, one need not tinker will all the tenders-one can just game information of just few tenders. With doubts such as these raised, everything now is in realm of suspicion-whether finance or HR applications.
Recent incident where two names were inserted in final list of recruits by #RRB-Gorakhpur shows when system is impacted by #AIDS, system cannot withstand even minor infection. MD/CRIS’ conduct where he is seeking to game 360 degree evaluation process is direct outcome of the brazenness of MR’s favourites as no officer can stand up and call this out due to naked fear of MR cell. Support given to #vigilance-trimurti clearly gives a message that anyone who is considered inconvenient can be ticked off.
When Mr #AshwiniVaishnaw replaced Mr #PiyushGoyal, we gave him 21 points to improve the system:
09 July 2021: “नए रेलमंत्री अश्विनी वैष्णव का स्वागत है: सकारात्मक माहौल बनाने और रेल की छवि सुधारने के लिए लेने होंगे कुछ अप्रिय निर्णय”
Sadly, after more than three years Indian Railways is worse than what it was !
Incompetence, #corruption, #manipulation, #fraud-welcome to bold new ’transformed’ Indian Railways.
08 Feb 2023: “#KMG का आतंक! समय बताएगा कि कौन सच के साथ था!”