The recent appointments scam in the Railways brings back into focus the inadequate and ineffective management of the nation's most important infrastructure sector. That the arrest of Mahesh Kumar, the suspended member (staff), has dealt a body blow to the prestige and dignity of Indian Railways goes without saying. The common reaction of the ordinary citizen is one of disgust, and a feeling of unease. If promotions and appointments to senior positions can be bought, is the running of the Railways in the right hands?
The key question to be asked is how deep the malaise is. Undeniably, the Railways is a microcosm of Indian society at large. Any rot in general morals and governance will surely find its echo in the Railways. Most citizens will agree that there has been a deterioration in standards of integrity in the past three decades. There is now a resigned acceptance at every level of railway management that there will be people who will abuse their position, and the powers vested in them to make material gains. The upright keep their conscience clear by the self-assertion: "I am honest, and not a part of the sleaze". Is this seamy side of the organisation an aberration? There are different assessments, but a realistic view would be - what we see is only the tip of the corruption iceberg.
Are appointments and promotions influenced by payments widespread in the Railways? My experience in the last 40 years shows that while cases of such warped commerce are not unknown, they are not so common as to compromise the system. There are bad eggs, who sooner or later get caught because of their greed. The organised unions also help keep such incidents in check. In any case, incidents of posts and promotions being bought are certainly not as prevalent in the Railways as is suspected in some other organisations.
Then, what is this hullabaloo about now? If this is just a one-off incident, nip it in the bud, and move on. Unfortunately, this alleged minister-nephew con has deeper ramifications than meets the eye.
For one, this is the first time that appointments at a top management level have been shown to be manipulate-able by payments. Besides, it exposes the lacunae in the system that allows even juniors to aspire for plum postings. Finally, the failure to adhere to set norms and the principle of seniority-cum-suitability has opened up the opportunity to show favouritism in promotions.
It is a fact that appointments of general manager and members of the Railway Board are generally based on well-established rules, norms and procedures and cannot be the subject of any bargaining or manoeuvring. Sometimes the actual places of postings attract criticism because of the minister's choice of officers for specific coveted cities or zones/production units. But such preferences are highly unlikely to attract financial shenanigans.
Again, promotions of Railway Board members are based on rules. For example, for posting as member mechanical, the senior-most general manager from the mechanical department who has a minimum of one year's residual service, would normally be the choice. In recent times, though, ministers have in a number of cases preferred a junior officer, and pushed through their choice by identifying handicaps and problems with the senior eligible officers. In most such cases, norms are violated because of the minister's desire to have members he can trust. Of course, such freedom of choice could possibly open the door for corrupt practices, as witnessed in the Mahesh Kumar case.
A second dimension of this scam is the underlying reality that the Railways continues to be a political football for our leaders to play with and exploit for their own and their party's benefit. The real reason the Railways is not able to live up to its promise is not corruption, but the lack of meaningful reforms, which requires political will.
The existing archaic structure of the Railways, including the Railway Board, is no longer suitable in tackling the transporter's challenges of the 21st century, especially the demands of the market place and needs of the customers. It is not as if this severe handicap has not been diagnosed in the past and recommendations for drastic overhaul given. From the Tandon Committee (1994) to the Rakesh Mohan Committee (2001) and the Pitroda Committee (2012), all have recommended major restructuring and changes in management philosophy. The existing dispensation, however, is so dyed in the wool, so conservative and resistant to change, so terrified that the existing power equations would be upset, that all good advice has fallen on deaf ears. Time after time, the opportunity to clean up the system has been ignored.
Every expert body has said the biggest bane of the Railways is departmentalism, working in silos to manage a dynamic transportation entity. Removing this one obstacle will add so much synergy to the system that the Railways will finally be able to achieve growth in quantum leaps. There will be all-round improvement in safety and service to customers.
Will such reforms remove, or even reduce, corruption? Not likely. It would, though, create an ecosystem that encourages transparency and excellence, an environment in which dishonesty will find it hard to prosper.
Systems that allow the immoral nexus between the contractor/supplier and the corrupt officials will need to be nixed. Despite the bans in place, agents operate in the railway ministry with impunity. Approaching officials in the garb of representing companies, or as consultants, some among them are not beyond making deals of the kind to which Mahesh Kumar was allegedly party. A strong administration and a strict political leadership can eliminate such misdemeanours easily.
It is also time both politicians and bureaucrats understood that railway management is a specialised area, and a panacea that thrusts generalists to this infrastructure sector may be a cure that is worse than the disease. Reforms lie elsewhere, with enough expert advice available. The Central Bureau of Investigation has given a wake-up call. Dust off those reports and act.
The author is a retired Financial Commissioner of Indian Railways
Disclaimer: These are personal views of the writer. They do not necessarily reflect the opinion of www.business-standard.com or the Business Standard newspaper
