Editorial: A Two-Tier System in Indian Railways
“Pay and survive, or stay honest and perish”
After CBI Traps
In the aftermath of CBI red-handed trapped corruption cases in the Railway system, a disturbing and deeply unequal pattern has emerged—one that strikes at the very foundation of fairness, transparency, and justice in public procurement.
Also Read: “रेलवे में भ्रष्टाचार पर सीबीआई की कार्रवाई, मगर आरोपियों के विरुद्ध रेलवे की कार्रवाई नगण्य?”
While the nation was led to believe that #anticorruption action would cleanse the system, ground realities tell a different story.
It is now confirmed information that large corporate contractors, despite being linked—directly or indirectly—to tainted works, have successfully managed concerned General Managers and senior officers. Their projects continue uninterrupted, files move swiftly, and penalties are mysteriously avoided.
The mechanism is simple and well-known: influence, money, and backdoor settlements.
“After the applicability of Clause 18 of the Indian Railway General Conditions of Contract (#GCC), an internal conflict has reportedly emerged between the new and the old GM promotion panel. The situation has intensified following market whispers suggesting internal blame-shifting over the issuance of noting under Clause 18, allegedly against contractors who had paid bribes..”
On the other hand, small and mid-level contractors—with no political reach, no lobbying and money power, and no access to corridors of power—have faced the full force of the system:
- Works abruptly terminated
- Firms blacklisted without proportional inquiry
- Bank guarantees encashed
- Years of credibility destroyed overnight
This selective enforcement exposes a two-tier justice system within Indian Railways:
- One rulebook for big companies
- Another for small contractors
Ironically, many of these small #Contractors were executing works under written instructions and supervision of railway officers themselves. When #Corruption surfaced, accountability should have moved upward—but instead, the weakest link was crushed to protect the powerful.
CBI action, which should have been a deterrent, has in several cases become a tool for selective punishment.
The message sent across the contractor ecosystem is chilling:
Asthmatic is very clear: “Pay and survive, or stay honest and perish.”
This is not just administrative failure—it is institutional and corporate corruption—meant corporatisation of corruption!
If big companies can “manage” General Managers even after #CBI exposure, then the real question is not about contractors alone, but about who protects the protectors.
What Must Change
- Uniform action against all beneficiaries of corruption, regardless of size
- Transparent publication of post-CBI decisions taken by Railway Boards and Zonal Railways HQs
- Protection for small contractors from arbitrary blacklisting
- Fixing personal accountability of senior officers, not scapegoating at the bottom
Until this happens, anti-corruption drives will remain headline events, not systemic reforms.
And, #IndianRailways will continue to punish the honest—while quietly pardoning the powerful.
Also Read: “बड़े टेंडर, अवास्तविक कार्यावधि और निर्णय-भय—सुधार की आवश्यकता”
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Also Read: “राष्ट्र के विकास की असली पटरी—समय पर लिया गया निर्णय!”
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