Urgent Action Needed-IR has become a Municipal Service, Part-II
Still there was a part of the problem which we could not identify and it took years of research that we found that Ministers have been knocking wrong door..
It was failure of Board and Ministers to hold this level accountable that led to arrest of two DRMs, several serving PHODs and a serving Member in past..
We published on Feb 3, 2025: “Urgent Action Needed-IR has become a Municipal Service, Part-I”
As we dug in to why #IndianRailways (IR) refuses to align with government’s objectives and has become large sink for government finances, we stumbled upon several reasons. Identification of Khan Market Gang (#KMG) and All India Delhi Service (#AIDS) was part of this process. We also identified lack of #rotation as institutional breeder of #corruption and entrenchment.
#Ep79: रेलवे के ‘डीप-स्टेट’ को नहीं भेद पा रही मोदी सरकार!
Still there was a part of the problem which we could not identify and it took years of research that we found that #Ministers have been knocking wrong door. The pivot for change is #leadership triad and holding this level accountable and measured on highest level of ethics and officer like qualities is what is needed to bring change (we have deliberately avoided use of much maligned word – ‘#transformation’).
It was failure of #Board and #Ministers to hold this level accountable that led to arrest of two #DRMs, several serving #PHODs and a serving #Member in past. It is this failure that led to fragmentation of IR, internecine departmental fights.
Nothing more was needed, just this level of leadership had to be held accountable. This is what Indian Army had done after devastating 1962 war.
Algorithm for Solving the real problem
Long tenures in a city has give unfair advantage to few officers who get entrenched. This #entrenchment clearly is for personal benefit and not for organisation. When these entrenched officers get access to positions of power they become larger than ministers.
Proposed Strategy: Create negative incentive for long stays.
How to do this:
Two step process which will be heart of the reform:
- An officer who has served more than 15 years in one city gets debarred for #DRMship. An officer who has spent more than 20 years in one city gets debarred for #GMship.
- Make DRM-ship prerequisite for GM-ship, and GM-ship prerequisite for Member-ship as in past.
Officers can keep getting salaries and promotions but will lose on leadership positions-all political pushes and pulls for stay in a city can be granted, but these elements cannot get in to positions of power. This will enable #railways to have leadership which can take bold decisions purely in national interest. This will truly break departmental silos which breed on entrenchment in no small measure.
More actions needed to make these 100 leadership positions ‘tamper proof’
- House retention for DRMs, GMs and Members is sheer violation of first principles of administration. This should be abolished asap. This has granted benefit worth several lakh rupees without going to pay commission.
- DRMs should be posted outside their railways and return to different railway.
Additional Pointers for Bringing Real Change
- Resistance to change: please calculate total time spent in a city of each and every officer. This is sea weed-it can trap even an elephant. Together they thwart any attempt to change.
- Below radar operators: secretaries to PHODs. Their city specific postings.
- MR’s Focus: Focus on top 100 leadership positions which include DRM-GM-Members. Debarment for long stays, non retention of residence.
- MR has been cleverly given wrong problem to solve viz. cadre merger-then he had to demerge them.
- Now multi-generational city specific postings getting managed. Example of Moradabad etc.
- Railways needs systems not drives. Drives indicate tentativeness.
- Is the safety negotiable? This is a question that MR must ask and also answer. Administrative decisions will follow from that answer.
- Integrity is 24×7 attribute: Take intelligence inputs on needs of these 100 officers beyond office hours.
- What are PHODs upto? What is ‘sewa’ they and their secretaries expect.
- Keep Work Professional: Why should spouses of accompanying PHODs travel on GM inspections. The culture of expensive gifts has to be stopped as the gifts come only from #contractors. This ultimately compromises quality of work.
- Number of years “successful” officers spend in a city shows IR is now a municipal service.
- Posting of officers with in city by dodging orders-case of #IRITM posting of officers who took study leave and got orders to #ADRM/Izzatnagar cancelled – now got transferred to IRITM. What standard would these officers set for trainees?
- Why average speeds not improving despite more powerful locos? Why yard improvements not taken up with open mind?
- Calculate railway bureaucracy per route km. Decide number of zones and divisions based on this. Create large goods sheds, Food Processing Organisations, Warehouses instead of creating divisions and zones. Local Employment will only come from this.