A Devastating Blow to Safety: Greed and Criminal Collusion in RDSO
Refer to our earlier post — “Policy Corruption: Compromising with Safety of Train Operation and Maintenance”
It’s a classic case of #greed and #criminal-collusion at the #RDSO. We all know that RDSO exclusively handles a limited number of critical #Safety items. Yet, driven by #bribes, they’ve scrapped the crucial performance evaluation criteria needed before upgrading firms from ‘#developmental’ to ‘#regular approved’ sources.
Meanwhile, the #RailwayBoard vide Letter No. 2023/RS(G)/779/4(E 3423823) dated 19.06.2023 containing #eligibility conditions for #turnkey-contracts for #furnishing of coaches has introduced a two-year performance evaluation as a mandatory pre-condition for being #eligible for upgrade and regular orders for turnkey contracts involving #coach furnishing.
Take, for another instance, the recent #NorthernRailway tender for 4,995 #PAPIS (Public Address and Passenger Information Systems), opened on May 7, 2024. This #Tender stipulates that a firm can only be upgraded from #developmental to #approved status after supplying 50 sets that have satisfactorily completed nine months in service. Coach furnishing or PAPIS have a negligible impact on#Train-safety, yet they require #performance evaluations for upgrades.
In stark contrast, RDSO has removed this #condition for the most #safety-critical items. No performance evaluation for safety items, but #mandatory evaluation for non-safety items—what an outrageous irony!
These examples clearly show that RDSO’s justification for their actions, which endanger #Train-operations, is utterly #hypocritical—a case of poetic justice. In their rush to eliminate the performance evaluation criteria, they forgot that this renders the #warranty failure condition meaningless. The chief conspirator behind this blatant misdeed is Special DG/VD, who, for his personal gain, has shamelessly overlooked #Passenger-safety.
This is a devastating blow to safety, driven by sheer greed and criminal collusion at the highest levels.