Editorial—“On Thin Ice”
#VivekGupta has been appointed as Member Infrastructure. The other candidate was more popular Parmeshwar Funkwal, currently General Manager of East Coast Railway. While Mr. Gupta maintains a polished image, he is reportedly well connected and networked in the railway industry and outside, which he deepened during his tenure as Executive Director of Gatishakti and later leveraged as Managing Director of the National High Speed Railway Corporation (#NHSRCL).
Despite having little more than a year remaining in his current term, he is already a leading candidate for the position of Chairman. Several have called for the short-term #termination of the current Chairman’s #contract, suggesting he may be elevated earlier. However, some observers consider officers such as Parmeshwar Funkwal and Uday Borwanker more suitable for the role as they are known to prioritise the organisation’s interests over personal image. This position requires a person of high integrity, domain expertise and a straightforward conduct.
Also Read: “ECR bribery case: Will ECR act under GCC to terminate and blacklist—or will rules differ for big vs small?”
What lies ahead of Vivek Gupta
We are pleased to have contributed to the acceptance of the view that domain experts should be considered for the position of board members, a position that was ultimately adopted by the government.
Mr. Vivek Gupta faces the challenge of instilling positivity and professionalism within the civil engineering and signal & telecom departments. The recent surge in #CBI cases involving civil engineers has raised significant concerns. The substantial allocation of thousands of crores of rupees through various plan heads to civil engineers necessitates careful moderation and management by top leadership.
Also Read: “Corruption is deep rooted in ECR—like advance stage #cancer”
Also Read: “Corrupt and illegal activities of Chief Engineer, Construction, ECR and others”
He must urgently address the pressing all round challenge of #poor-integrity and all round #Corruption in #EastCentralRailway. With significant investments managed by civil engineers, it is imperative that he implements a #rotation-policy for all civil engineers to sever entrenched relationships with state or region-specific contractors. Without this rotation, no network or strategic manoeuvring will suffice to combat the corruption that such relationships foster. As a civil engineer, he cannot afford an easy escape from this responsibility.
To streamline daily railway operations, he must reduce the interference from third-floor officers.
Additionally, he should plan to bring in officers who have received training abroad to the Railway Design and Standards Organisation (#RDSO) and bolster his directorates. He should take initiative to put his officers through process we recommended in following article published on 15 February, 2023: “KMG_2.0: A cynic’s view – रेलवे के धनकुबेरों का सिंडीकेट”
This screening would provide a ready resource for selecting officers for the Railway Board, RDSO and construction.
It’s regrettable that #RailwayBoard Members seem to have forgotten the fates of the former General Managers of Western and #CentralRailway, who were imprisoned and interrogated by the CBI, respectively.
Mr Vivek Gupta’s professionalism as General Manager of #WesternRailway was a welcome change. Many had expected him to be another civil engineer general manager who would not break free from the club-dance and officers’ sports etc culture of railways and keep mahila samiti politics out of official work.
He will also encounter the challenge posed by Kavach, which is raising more questions than it answers. The substantial financial investment is a concern and demands greater accountability. The rise in signalling costs is illogical and contradicts the principles of economies of scale, affecting both #Kavach and Electronic Interlocking. Our suggestions, as outlined in the previously mentioned article, could assist in tackling these issues.
As we closely observe him, we fervently hope he instils a sense of #integrity, service and purpose within his team.