Indian Railways: One Year of our reporting on KMG

Despite a year of effort, there have been no significant developments in four core areas of Indian Railways – Rotation, Vigilance, DRM’s 52 years criteria, and the IRMS

The lack of progress in rotation calls for the attention of the PED/Vigilance and the CRB

The increasing number of CBI cases indicates a broader administrative failures

The Railways had their own hidden power structure, similar to the commonly known “Deep State” concept, which operated solely in its own Self-Interests and never for the betterment of the Railways as a whole

Sudheer Kumar is perfect case study material of what can happen when a person’s personal ambition and blind faith of minister on such person can ruin hundreds of careers and cost tens of thousands of crores due to his sheer incompetence

One year ago on September 28, 2022, we published first piece of #KMG series which became 5 volume series on what truly ails Indian Railways.

Read: “The team of Minister is manipulating 360 degree and resulted in a round loss of morale”

Over the course of a year, we the #Railwhispers have been conducting a #forensic_analysis on why the #Ministry of Railways has consistently been a source of #trouble for all #governments. Even in the current #government, the present #Minister (#MR) is the 4th individual to hold the position. Unfortunately, the minister’s performance leaves much to desire, as we will soon see how and why his performance has been underwhelming.

What prompted our investigation was the realisation that, the #Railways function as a completely separate entity and never gets truly analysed by the so-called mainstream #Media. While the powerful #unions within the Railways contribute their fair share of problems, we came to the conclusion that the unions themselves are not the root issue. Implementing strict #discipline and cracking down on #misconduct can easily rectify those issues. Instead, we were curious as to why the Railways is so resistant to change despite attracting some of the best talent in India through the #UPSC exams.

Our breakthrough came when an #electrical officer, #SudheerKumar aka #Tenderman was brought out of retirement to serve as an #Advisor to the newly appointed #Minister for Railways. His primary task was to guide the minister on achieving a #Net_Zero goal. However, we quickly noticed that Sudheer Kumar was exerting his influence on #tender specifications, summoning General Managers, and even interfering with #transfers and #appointments, and thus he soon become the shadow railway minister.

Soon people noticed that Sudheer Kumar had actually been holding key decision-making position – much longer than the tenure of one minister. within the #RailwayBoard for almost two decades. He was a perfect manipulator, a player, and a consummate snake oil salesman, he knew every switchboard, every room of the #RailBhawan and in his long service he perfected art of gaming the top. Known for his #machinations, he bluffed his way to very top. He is perfect case study material of what can happen when a person’s personal ambition and blind faith of minister on such person can ruin hundreds of careers and cost tens of thousands of crores due to his sheer #incompetence.

This realization was a game-changer for us. We discovered that the Railways had their own hidden power structure, similar to the commonly known “#DeepState” concept, which operated solely in its own #Self_Interests and never for the #betterment of the #Railways as a whole. The failure to identify and expose these individuals resulted in significant political costs for the executive branch. Borrowing leaf from our Hon’ble #PM, our readers named it the “Khan Market Gang” of Indian Railways or #KMG.

Taking Stock

A detailed chart published by us revealed that all the #ministers of the #Modi government have been surrounded by self-interested individuals who lack understanding of the Railways since 2014. #Protectees and #hitmen of this #team infamously subjected the #VandeBharat team to #toxic scrutiny and destroyed the careers of several individuals.

Today, #SudheerKumar has been abruptly removed from #RailBhawan without any farewell, contrary to the wishes of #Minister. Despite the efforts of the top officials in the railways, #JeetendraSingh could not be accommodated in Delhi and was forced to move elsewhere-Vadodara. However, it should be noted that he has been promoted and still retains a house in Delhi.

The main #architect of #IRMS, #NaveenKumar has recently been given a significant promotion and will now serve as the #Director of Uttar Pradesh Metro Rail Corporation Ltd. (#UPMRCL). It should be highlighted that Mr Naveen Kumar has never worked on electric #locomotives, #EMUs, #Metro, or #traction, this this promotion would not have been possible without the support of key players, including the rumored blessings of Minister, as happened earlier in the case of Mr #KishorKumar.

Therefore, his appointment to the position in the #UPMRCL can be seen as a result of factors other than merit. Nevertheless, the core team of #KMG has now moved out of Rail Bhawan after spending more than half a century. It can be argued that this is a consequence of the numerous curses that hundreds of #railwaymen had directed towards these individuals.

Sudheer Kumar, Naveen Kumar and Jitendra Singh have left Rail Bhawan, but the #germs of KMG they have left in the Railway Board, Zonal Headquarters and Divisions will keep the Railways sick for many years!

What Next?

Despite a year of effort, there have been no significant developments in four core areas of #IndianRailways – #Rotation, #Vigilance, DRM’s 52 years criteria, and the Indian Railway Management Service (#IRMS). The issue of rotation continues to be a challenge for Indian Railways, and we have reported on this extensively based on complaints and firsthand accounts from production units and staff. Our reports have also shed light on the conditions in various departments such as #Stores, #Traffic, S&T and #Engineering.

The lack of progress in rotation calls for the attention of the Principal Executive Director (#PED) of Vigilance and the Chairman & CEO, Railway Board (#CRB). The increasing number of #CBI cases indicates a broader administrative failure that can be traced back to their inaction.

Additionally, there have been allegations of #extortion and the existence of a hit-job-racket within the #Vigilance department – in board & zonal railways both. It is rumoured that since the departure of #RKJha, the PEDs have been professionally dealing cases. However, they have failed to eliminate the #corrupt elements and remove “#careerist” vigilance officers who lack expertise and decision-making skills-as they always have been in vigilance or light administrative assignments.

We have even suggested that the #CRB, as the head of #Vigilance, personally interview all Executive Directors (#EDs) and #CVOs of vigilance branch to assess their capabilities in handling cases such as the Vande Bharat project. The dissatisfaction caused by the presence of #rogue elements in Vigilance, along with the #opaque process of #IRMS, has severely affected the #morale of hardworking officers within the organisation. This where the current dispensation has squarely failed. To continue..

-Suresh Tripathi