Brain Fog of Railway Board, Part-1

Should Divisions or Zones be blamed for poor safety?

#Editorial Comment: कई जोनल रेलों और मंडलों में पंक्चुअलिटी (समय पालन) में भारी गिरावट आई है। चक्रधरपुर जैसे मैंडलों के बारे में #LateDivisionCKP जैस सोशल मीडिया ट्रेंड भी हुए और हमने भी उस पर कड़ी प्रतिक्रिया दी। लेकिन हमें डीआरएम पद पर और महाप्रबंधक पद पर रह चुके कई वरिष्ठ अधिकारियों के बराबर मैसेज आए—कि स्थिति का सही आंकलन नहीं हो रहा—चक्रधरपुर डिवीजन को कमाना भी है, अमृत भारत स्टेशन भी बनाने हैं, ट्रांसफर और पोस्टिंग की शतरंज हेडक्वार्टर में सजी है, तो #DRM को कितना कोसा जाए? आसनसोल के मशहूर डिरेलमेंट—जिसने डीआरएम को अपदस्थ कर दिया—उस सेक्शन में कई सालों से आवश्यक मेंटेनेंस नहीं हुई थी। हमें भी लगा कि दूसरे पहलू को भी पाठकों के सामने रखा जाए। उनके फीडबैक को हमने AI की मदद से कम्पाइल किया है, ताकि स्टाइल और प्रवाह एक सा हो सके!

Q: Should Divisions or Zones be blamed for poor safety?

A: Yes, they bear direct responsibility.

However, those who should be accountable for #Safety are now also responsible for hi-decibel non-safety activities like Amrit Bharat Works. This shift prioritises social media presence over ground-level work, leading to changes in incentive structures. This can be readily seen in the genuflecting language used for senior officers in routine messaging on WhatsApp groups.

Furthermore, there’s ongoing confusion about the roles of the Zonal HQs and Divisions. While divisions have junior officers who report to Divisional Railway Managers (#DRMs), they understand their #careers and #APARs are more closely controlled by departmental bosses who sit in Zonal HQs. This is a significant structural flaw that persists. Previously, posts of #MOBD were filled by ex-cadres, and there was hope that the departmental knife cutting through the Board-Zonal HQs-Divisions hierarchy could be avoided. However, that hope is no longer valid.

What needs to be done?

Clearly, DRMs need to be more administratively empowered. Zonal HQ must be given tenders and planning, while Divisions should be empowered and made accountable for Safety.

Training for officers selected for DRM-ship is also crucial. Reducing the number of officers stationed at HQs is essential. HQ strength is currently excessively bloated and this negatively impacts divisional officers as this has inverted pyramid.

Rationalisation of officer strength is a crucial “missing in action” reform. The recruitment gap through the #UPSC will have a lasting impact for decades. Filling senior ranks with #promotee officers with limited field service at the #supervisory level will severely hinder senior leadership and frustrates basic, accepted administrative practice of centre and state governments which kept balance between UPSC recruits and promotion from supervisor levels.

Hence, the real blame for poor safety ultimately lies with the administrative tier, which has the power to drive these reforms. However, a leadership that has failed to implement #rotation can’t be trusted to reduce the bench strength of officers. Having finally reverted to departmental membership from within respective cadres, especially after the failed string of #reforms under the guise of #IRMS, this entrenchment will only deepen. Contd.