To save the railways, the primacy of the Railway Board and its chair must be restored, writes RC ACHARYA
When in doubt, form a committee — this has always been the mantra followed by politicians who, with a minimal knowledge of the Ministries they head, always need a group of experts to guide them in formulating policies and draw up a road map.
Such an exercise in re-structuring Indian Railways was done by Rakesh Mohan in 2001 who recommended ‘corporatisation’ as the pancea for all its ills. Unfortunately, the vital issue of whether Indian Railways should become a commercial entity generating profits to finance its growth, or remain a vehicle for economic and social development, with the Union Government footing the bill, was not fully addressed.
Moreover, an ownership structure that gives Government-nominated directors unbridled power without accountability, while professionals running the corporation are held responsible for the results, is hardly the way to go. The problem is not about who is the owner, but whether the owner is willing to take the responsibility.
Creating an arms-length relationship between Indian Railways and the Government would be ideal, but will the Minister and babus of the Ministry of Transport, under which the proposed Railway Corporation would function, accept itIJ Not likely!
Moreover, any organisation needs a chief executive officer who calls the shots and also takes the rap if things go wrong. Accountability must go along with authority, if results have to be delivered. This crucial role has been performed by the Chairman of the Railway Board, who though first among equals of a seven-member Board, was ultimately responsible for the smooth functioning of the railway behemoth.
The vital task of selecting candidates to man the crucial posts of managers for the 67 Rail divisions, General Managers for 16 Zonal railways, five for the Production Units and seven other posts of equivalent rank is the CRB’s prerogative — though he may consult other members in this regard.
Responsible for translating policies into action, these are the field commanders of an organisation which is 24X7 at war, ensuring trains run, come hell or high water, carrying 23 million passengers and three million tonnes of freight a day.
Madhav Rao Scindia was possibly the last Rail Minister who understood and made full use of this arrangement, seldom interfering with the Railway’s day to day working, unless he had a very strong enough reason to do so. His ‘golden’ era saw the introduction of a string of inter-city trains such as the Shatabdi expresses, and a state-of-the-art computerised passenger reservation system which this July created a record by issuing almost five million tickets a day from its 1,11,27 terminals located at 3,257 stations, and through bookings online.
Mr Jaffer Sharief who followed Scindia came armed with prior experience given his earlier stint as Minister of State for Railways. Inducting a railway officer as his Private Secretary, he soon set about milking the organisation through his much touted uni-gauge project, which put railways firmly on the path of financial ruin.
A string of political heavy weights have over the last two decades served as successive Rail Ministers. They have continued to assume the role of CEO, with their respective private secretaries often acting as an alter ego, issuing orders on behalf of the Minister, riding rough shod over not only the Rail Board but the entire organisation.
Unfortunately, given the vast resources available with the Railways and its efficiency in executing orders, the Ministers’ populist agenda got a free run. Announcing hundreds of new trains, stopping super-fast trains at MP and MlA home towns, multi crore projects — most of them financially unviable — and other freebies became routine, resulting in Indian Railway’s operating ratio plunging to an all time low of 92 per cent.
Sensing a kill, powerful vendors lost no time in making the most of an easy access to the Rail Minister, who suitably aided by a clever PS managed to overrule or sidestep Board Member’s objections to purchasing sub-standard goods or hardware of dubious value.
‘Divide and rule’ became the ‘mantra’, and with the Chairman being effectively side lined, even some Board members began lobbying for projects and other inputs for their respective departments, in order to grab the maximum share of the budget pie. Departmentalism soon became the order of the day, and providing rail transport at the lowest possible unit cost became a lost cause.
The latest fiasco of ‘cash for post’ during Mr Pawan Kumar Bansal’s tenure was one such example of a vendor trying to influence not only the outcome of a tender, but slotting a key Board member who would be favourable to their overtures.
Hopefully the latest committee on ‘Restructuring of Railways’ headed by Mr Bibek Debroy will squarely address the vital issue of providing authority with accountability, with the primacy of CRB as a CEO being fully restored.
(The writer is a former Member, Railway Board)