Promotion Scam in RlyBd: Stop illegal promotions and revert them who do not even have minimum qualifying service

Admin

Mis-spending of public fund/government exchequer through undue promotions done in RBSS cadre by JSG to the grade of Deputy Director and Under Secretary (DD/US) of Railway Board by misusing power

It is very much required to conduct audit enquiry into these discrepancies and misuse of government exchequer, and also to take action against all the officers/officials involved in this scam of illegally promoting officers who joined as Group-B to HAG

Railway Board Secretariat Service (#RBSS) is a Miscellaneous cadre formed on the pattern of Central Secretariat Service (#CSS). Recruitment/promotion to Section Officer (#SO) grade – Group-B Gazetted – is done through (Civil Services Exam/discontinued since 2004 and Departmental/LDCE) Exams conducted by #UPSC and through promotion from feeder grade of #ASO as done in CSS.

The Recruitment Rules (#RRs) of RBSS, provide for promotions upto the grade of Joint Director/Deputy Secretary (JD/DS); whereas promotions upto the level of HAG is being done by seeking parity with ‘Organized Group-A Services’ in the absence of such a provision in the RRs of RBSS. (Copy of RRs of RBSS is available with #Railwhispers).
 
Promotions, career advancement opportunities and beneficial seniority review are doled out at convenient times and to favourable people. Clear cut manipulation of Rules for self indulgence and self gratification leading to mis-spending of government exchequer have been noticed in the matter of –

In the year 2022, Moharana/Joint Secretary, Railway Board was promoted illegally to HAG for just one day before his retirement, overlooking the seniority of his senior, Mazumdar, also Joint Secretary who was due for promotion. This illegal promotion has caused loss to the exchequer to the tune of Rs.10,000/- per month for ages.

Central Administrative Tribunal (#CAT), in its judgment dated 31.05.2016 had categorically stated that #RailwayBoard had never had any authority whatsoever to create posts in the rank equivalent to Joint Secretaries and Additional Secretaries of the Government of India, when even the RBSS Rules themselves did not have any provision, whatsoever, for any such posts to exist and being available for occupation by RBSS officers.

All officers of RBSS cadre working in SAG are on PROVISIONAL BASIS. These officers have been promoted to SAG posts on PROVISIONAL basis and have not been regularized till date. Not a single order relating to regularization of SAG officer in RBSS is available; meaning thereby that no officer of RBSS in SAG is regular SAG which also implies that all promotions carried out from SAG to HAG are illegal.

It is understood that a proposal for promotion of Sunil Kumar presently working as ‘Provisional’ EDE is under consideration. This is being done when he does not qualify any of the conditions required for promotion to an HAG post. Sunil Kumar does not even fulfil the requirement of 25 years of regular service in Group ‘A’ out of which one year regular service in SAG as on crucial date is required (Resolution No. E(O)III-93/PM/50 dt. 09.10.2019). No order regarding regular SAG of Sunil Kumar has been issued.

#Seniority of officers is being revised systematically time and again and officers who have higher seniority and pay scales are deliberately placed below these tainted direct recruit Group ‘B’ Section Officers, thereby being able to amass huge arrears in tens of lakhs by claiming through stepping up provisions; gathering upto whopping 62 lakhs in some cases.

Repetition of this cycle in lower scales is also being carried out by promoting ineligible favoured juniors to higher scales before publishing their actual seniority lists (seniority lists are not yet been finalized and much less not even vetted by UPSC). Now, even at a later stage, it is discovered that they belong to a later seniority; they will unfailingly give the excuse that they have already held the post and thus are entitled to the pay of the post held by them with retrospective effect.   Otherwise, these ineligible officers will be given promotional benefits and will acquire further annual increments alongwith all consequential benefits of this promotion thereby irresponsibly mis-spending government exchequer.

The following are some of the favoured illegal promotions done by JSG:

  • Aniruddha Thakur working as DDE(D&A) w.e.f. 31.12.2021. This person was given illegal promotion without even any promotion panel/promotion order. He was on deputation (while he was working as SO) and on return to Railway Board he was directly posted as DD without any promotion order. All promotions were withheld in the year 2021 and no panel for any promotion was available. In December 2021 only adhoc/provisional promotion of ED/JS was done and all other promotions i.e. to the grade of Director/JD/DS/DD/US was done in January 2022 only. However, this person was directly posted as DD instead of being promoted to DD/US.
  • Smt. Preeti presently working as DDVT. She is ineligible for promotion to DD since she is not placed in any of the revised SO seniority list from which promotions have been done, as per JSG’s statement, however, she has been given promotion as DD in the order referred above.
  • Smt. Ujjwala Pandey presently working as US(Admn). She is ineligible for promotion to DD since she is not placed in any of the revised SO seniority list from which promotions have been done, as per JSG’s statement, however, she has been given promotion as DD in the order referred above.
  • Smt. Savita Chikkara presently working as US(Estt.). She is not placed in any of the revised SO seniority list from which promotions have been done, as per JSG’s statement, however, she has been given promotion as DD in the order referred above.

All SOs promoted to DD since October 2024 do not have minimum qualifying service for the said promotion since they are not included in the revised SO list (tentative list upto 2016) issued by JSG. Hence these officials are ineligible for promotion as on date and as such the promotions are illegal. These are only a few examples.

It may be seen that Railway Board administration runs on the whims & fancies of senior officers of RBSS who have acquired ED/JS level posts illegally well before they were eligible for such a promotion. Similarly, now they are promoting their ‘favorite’ SOs to US/DD also so that like them these officials can also get enhanced salary and all other privileges/facilities attached to the post in that grade and thereby misusing government exchequer.

From the above, it is clear that Railway Board administration contradicts their own arguments and are misusing their power and mis-spending government exchequer fraudulently. The shamefulness of these officers to justify their misdeeds and wasting time and money of government is grim. These misdeeds done by misguiding higher officers is by providing misleading/guileful information even to Minister for Railways is to be looked into seriously.

In view of above, it is very much required to conduct audit enquiry into these discrepancies and misuse of government exchequer and also to take action against all the officers/officials involved in this scam of illegally promoting officers who joined as Group-B to HAG.

It is also very much required to advice the Competent Authority to stop such illegal promotions and also to revert the latest illegal promotions to US/DD grade done by Railway Board administration of those ineligible SOs who do not even have minimum qualifying service resulting in financial misappropriation of public funds.