The Ask #4: Can the Compromised Lead?

#Rotation is the essence of clean and ethical bureaucracy and disciplined administration—no wonder armed forces, which remain the last bastion of professionalism—who are always ready with packed boriya-bistar, implement it irrespective of which family the officer is married into or to which family he belongs. Learned railway officers who ran railways in days of acute resource crunch lament that #IndianRailways now has the character of a #municipality.

Based on their inputs we wrote:

Feb 03, 2025: “Urgent Action Needed-IR has become a Municipal Service, Part-I”

Feb 15, 2025: “Urgent Action Needed-IR has become a Municipal Service, Part-II”

The Ask : Can compromised officers lead impartially and transparently?

Answer is big NO !

You might describe senior leadership that “bows before #corrupt-subordinates” as lacking #integrity or strength in #leadership, allowing #unethical-behaviour to flourish. This type of leadership may be viewed as weak or compromised, prioritising personal or organisational gain over ethical standards, sometimes resulting in a toxic or dysfunctional work environment.

We have published several cases where officers on promotions from Group ‘C’ to Group ‘B’ and to Group ‘A’ did not leave their stations. For example, in recent past two such cases from #traffic department were loudly talked about. One #Commercial Inspector who has run his business using railway resources has successfully managed to be promoted all the way up to becoming a #DyCCM in a zonal HQ in Mumbai, while being able to run his personal business successfully. As if on cue, a recent order refreshed memories:

At serial no. 4-in above posting order-is an officer who has been in #Pune for almost 10 years now. Before that he has served as commercial inspector in Pune, leaving for a year on promotion to Mumbai and then back to where he was in Group ‘C’. What has fuelled anger in traffic department is that even after having spent entire working life in Pune, this officer has now managed next posting in Pune by transfer of a post from other division thereby weakening it, this is not something which can be easily explained. Question is, how can accommodation of desires of a junior scale officer after 10 year long posting at Pune be so overpowering that he is promoted at the same station by transferring the only Senior Scale post of other division-how can administration be so supine? What has happened to the famed touch me not arrogant attitude of #IRTS PHODs that they are bending to this level?

But when one looks at the profile of his seniors who are in chain of decision making, one can understand why senior officers aspiring for Level-16 and Level-17 in #IRMS have bowed before serial no. 4.

Lack of #rotation, being able to come back to last station of posting after #DRM-ship, being able to stick to Mumbai for rest of the times explains how senior traffic leadership is compromised.

Unsafe Decision of CR HQ

Traffic department is at the vanguard of #Safety of Indian Railways. We have repeatedly argued that lack of rotation is an unsafe practice in IR. Compromised #PHODs crumbling before their #inspectors in such a brazen manner puts a black mark on their ability to lead. Such decisions of the traffic department are unsafe. Several inputs indicate that many #GeneralManagers have been very harsh on their DRMs, but do their HQs officers not have responsibility for the team which has been posted in the division for the DRM to lead?

Having discussed a case of a #PHOD surrendered before a Commercial Inspector, now let us go to Rail Bhawan.

Member/Operations & Business Development (#MOBD), and the rest of the Members of the #RailwayBoard need to look at Railway Protection Force (#RPF) which practices rotation rigidly. Accounts Department (#IRAS) also has tradition of rotation.

How can proven on paper manipulator be allowed to lead commercial department?

Dear readers, remember Hari Shankar Verma who was derailed by shifting him as Director General of Indian Railways Institute of Traffic Management (#IRITM), Lucknow! Argument given while denying him Additional Membership was that first post arising will be matched to seniormost eligible person. But having achieved #derailment of Mr Verma, now this argument is being changed.

An officer who belongs to an influential forward caste which he shared with former Minister of State for Railways (#MOSR), refused his promotion as he would have been posted as the DG/IRITM which fell vacant first when Mr Verma moved as DG/Safety, Railway Board to the #RailBhawan. In fact to deny him post of MOBD, setting aside convention, a non-IRTS officer was brought in to the post of MOBD. This is interesting as government gave extension to then Member/Traction & Rolling Stock (#MTRS), #SatishKumar and made him Chairman/CEO/Railway Board (#CRB).

This was tom-tommed as government’s outreach to dalit community. While at the same time, to stop Mr Verma from becoming MOBD who earned image of being firebrand in his career, his dalit identity was not given same respect. It is a different matter that Mr Verma was not known to play his caste card. It is widely believed that extension to Satish Kumar meant accommodating Hitendra Malhotra as first non-IRTS MOBD. Whereas by promoting #HariShankarVerma as MOBD, government could have made either #NaveenGulati or #HitendraMalhotra as #CRB without granting either of them an extension. But then when ball was set rolling to thwart Verma from becoming MOBD, first roll of dice was to create argument matching seniority with arising of vacancy.

Having put in his refusal for promotion, this officer who goes by the name of Ranjan Prakash Thakur, avoided going as DG of IRITM, the way Verma was sent just a year ago. He bided his time as two more posts fell vacant. Soon after that, he withdrew his refusal of promotion. Dear reader please note that first post to fall vacant was DG of IRITM next was Additional Member C&IS and third one being Additional Member-Commercial. First two posts are considered non-lucrative. No wonder, the man who was to become DG/IRITM as per accepted argument, now is canvassing for the post of AM-Commercial.

#RanjanPrakashThakur was earlier in the secretariat of Manoj Sinha when he was the MOSR, then he took choice posting of DRM/Danapur and then went as Principal Secretary to the Government, Industries, and Commerce Department of Jammu & Kashmir by virtue of Manoj Sinha who has been Lt. Governor of J&K. So one can understand his influence.

This change of rule is being protested by another Indian Railway Traffic Service (#IRTS) officer who is said to have represented to the Appointment Committee of the Cabinet (#ACC).

Question is when an officer has given #refusal for #promotion when he was to go as #DG of an #academy on promotion, withdrawal of his refusal when post of AM-Commercial has fallen vacant speaks of his manipulative character. How can he be trusted to give leadership to the Commercial department? Government needs to identify these actions and consider such brazen manipulation as black spot on the character of the officer. How can such officers be trusted?

The #Ask : How can such compromised leadership be trusted who cannot even with stand pressure from their inspectors? How can manipulators engaging in brazen gaming of Level-16 position be promoted? Remember, it is these PHODs who then become ace gamers like we are now seeing in the case where rule by which Mr Verma was derailed is sought to be changed.

Ability to go scot free has made people more brazen.