O P I N I O N S

Guest Column
‘Restructuring’ the Railways to no end
RC Acharya
Over the last two decades, successive rail ministers brazenly continued to assume the role of CEO, with their personal secretaries often issuing orders on behalf of the minister.
Whenever in doubt, form a committee." This has always been the "motto" of ministers eager to make a mark of their superb stewardship, and Sadanada Gowda is no exception. 

Touchstones
Don’t throw out all that is old
Ira Pande
The start of the festive season usually heralds a perceptible change in the air. There is an unmistakable nip that promises balmy mornings and evenings and cooler afternoons. However, all these familiar markers are receding into the range of past memories and Delhi, at least, is still in the throes of a late and humid summer. Perhaps this is why there is no visible excitement anywhere and even the Ramlilas and melas have recorded fewer footfalls this year.

Ground zero
After the splash in the US, the hard part
Raj Chengappa
Despite the scepticism of the badshahs of the Beltway, Modi was able to turn around the relationship from one of despair and frustration to that of hope. Known to be a problem solver, he will push for rapid implementation of the summit outcomes.

Guest Column
‘Restructuring’ the Railways to no end
RC Acharya

Over the last two decades, successive rail ministers brazenly continued to assume the role of CEO, with their personal secretaries often issuing orders on behalf of the minister.

RC Acharya

Whenever in doubt, form a committee." This has always been the "motto" of ministers eager to make a mark of their superb stewardship, and Sadanada Gowda is no exception.

A new committee to "restructure" the Railways under the chairmanship of Bibek Debroy — an economist — will be assisted by KM Chandrasekhar, former Cabinet Secretary; Rajendra Kashyap, former FC, Railways; Gurcharan Das, former CMD P&G; Ravi Narayan, former MD NSE; Partha Mukhopadhaya, Senior Fellow, Center for Policy Research; and a nominee from the department of economic affairs.

The last such exercise in restructuring done by Rakesh Mohan in 2001 recommended "corporatisation" as a panacea for all its ills. However, the vital issue of whether the Railways should become a commercial entity required to generate profits, or continue to be a vehicle for economic and social growth was never fully answered.

Moreover, an ownership structure recommended by the committee that gave government-nominated directors unbridled power without accountability, while professionals running the "corporation" were held responsible for the results, was hardly the way to go.

The problem is not about who the owner is, but whether the owner is willing to take the responsibility. Creating an arms length relationship between the Railways and the government would be ideal, but will the ministers and "babus" of the Ministry of Transport, under which the proposed railway corporation would function, be prepared to accept it? Not likely!

Moreover, every organisation needs a CEO who calls the shots and also takes the rap if things go wrong, for accountability must go along with authority if results have to be delivered.

This crucial role of the CEO has all along been assumed by the Chairman Railway Board (CRB), who, though first among equals of seven board members, is ultimately responsible for the smooth functioning of the 1.4 million-strong behemoth.

The vital task of selecting candidates to man the crucial posts of manager for 67 divisions, general manager for 16 zonal railways, five for production units and seven posts of equivalent rank is the CRB’s prerogative, though he may consult other members.

Drawn from almost all departments, these are officers with hands on experience and outstanding managerial and technical capabilities, as they are charged with the vital task of translating policies into action.

They 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 3 million tonnes of freight a day, all the while keeping various departments under their command working as a cohesive team.

Perhaps Madhav Rao Scindia was the last Rail Minister who understood and made full use of the unique strengths of this vast organisation, seldom interfering with the Railways day to day working unless he had a strong enough reason to do so.

Conscious of the fact that the Railways team of around 10,000 officers belong to 10 different disciplines, often with their own perceptions and priorities, he seldom allowed the main objective to be lost sight of and during his "golden era" the monster of "departmentalism" was never allowed to rear its head.

Jaffer Sharief who followed Scindia a few years later came armed with the prior experience of having worked as the Minister of State for Railways, and inducting a railway officer as his PS who knew the ropes. Sharief soon set about milking the organisation as a de facto CEO.

Over the last two decades, successive rail ministers continued to brazenly assume the role of CEO, with their respective personal secretaries often issuing orders on behalf of the minister, riding roughshod over not only the board, but also the entire organisation.

"Divide and rule" became the mantra, and with the Chairman being effectively sidelined even some board members began actively lobbying for projects and other inputs in order to grab the maximum share of the "budget pie" for the departments under their charge.

Sensing a kill, powerful vendors’ lobbies soon got into the act, securing lines of communication to the minister, who suitably aided by a clever PS, managed to overrule board members’ objections to purchase substandard goods, hardware of dubious value, or ordering a non-performer into a choice posting.

The latest fiasco of "cash for post" during Pawan Kumar Bansal’s tenure was one such example of a vendor trying to influence not only the outcome of a tender, but also slotting a key purchaser who would be favourable to their overtures.

Hopefully, the latest committee on restructuring of the Railways will squarely address three key issues, namely whether the Railways should become a commercial undertaking or remain a vehicle for economic growth with major investments being funded by the central exchequer; insisting on accountability with authority; and last but not the least, restoring the primacy of CRB as the CEO.

The writer is a former member of the Railway Board

Touchstones
Don’t throw out all that is old
Ira Pande

Ira Pande

The start of the festive season usually heralds a perceptible change in the air. There is an unmistakable nip that promises balmy mornings and evenings and cooler afternoons. However, all these familiar markers are receding into the range of past memories and Delhi, at least, is still in the throes of a late and humid summer. Perhaps this is why there is no visible excitement anywhere and even the Ramlilas and melas have recorded fewer footfalls this year.

But is it just the weather that is responsible? Or even Delhi's notorious traffic snarls? The truth is that the age of innocence is under the daily assault of TV soaps and tele-serials that have glamorised these festive rituals to an extent that our homely Ramlilas and neighbourhood melas appear terribly tawdry and unexciting. I see little enthusiasm in children to watch a live Ramlila performance and even less in their tired parents who just put on a DVD and park the kids in front of the TV to get their annual dose of Hindutva. Then there is the determined attack of manufacturers and advertisers who make it mandatory to shop until you drop. Moreover, with the burgeoning of e-commerce one doesn't even need to step out of the house now to buy clothes, toys, household gadgets or even jewellery. For busy mums and lazy dads a gift is now a click away and delivered at your doorstep. Why, then, trek wearily to crowded market places and sales and why waste your time on the roads cursing the traffic and crowds? Why indeed.

India has changed so much in the last few years that it is getting difficult to keep pace with trends and social developments. I am writing this column from Dehradun and once again I am struck by how the world outside the big metros is poised to rapidly outstrip metros in terms of spending power. I have been visiting this lovely valley town since the early 60s, when my uncle was the local Civil Surgeon. Their house, next to the modest civil hospital, had a tiled roof and many mango and litchi trees. Another uncle lived in the Doon School and summer afternoons gorging ourselves on litchis that were just dumped in a large bathtub is a clear and delightful memory. Other memories include occasional trips to the Ghantaghar Chowk and Paltan Bazar and the posh shopping complex of Astley Hall where Ajanta Bakery sold the most delectable pastries and sunshine toffee. There was also the much-awaited treat at the local Kwality’s restaurant for their cassata ice-creams. Dehradun had a large cantonment area while a large part of the civil area belonged to the Survey of India. The town then had large sprawling estates that belonged to retired Army personnel or bureaucrats and this was perhaps how it had preserved its neat and clean markets and schools in pristine condition. Even today, once in a while one can spot an old tin-roofed bungalow but it is generally in such a degraded state that it is probably abandoned after its owners passed on. The children await a settlement before handing it over to a builder and another apartment complex will replace it soon.

I cannot pinpoint the exact time when the old town began to crumble and when its old enclaves were nudged out to make place for an increasing population. Perhaps it happened when it was declared the state capital of Uttarakhand. Today, every nook and cranny is being built up and malls and markets have sprung up like mushrooms. Educational institutions abound, ranging from hilariously named 'English-medium' schools such as Pestleweed and Crony's School, to computer academies and what have you. Young students who seem perpetually astride their bikes with their pretty girlfriends wrapped round their waists zoom about all day, driving panic-struck senior citizens out on their constitutionals into near-death experiences. Food, rather than learning, seems the most absorbing youth activity but this is no different from what I see in students elsewhere.

We must welcome change and accept it as a fact of evolution. It is only to be expected that as we are integrated into a larger world community, our own lives will reflect its influence upon us. All I hope is that we do not erase the old completely in order to establish the new. One has read several accounts of how China (a country much admired by the votaries of economic progress) flattened whole towns to make way for the new smart cities it has dazzled the world with. However, they also erased a vital part of their own identity and many now admit that not all the change made for a better quality of life. I recommend young Pallavi Aiyar's delightful 'Smoke and Mirrors' to those who wish to understand this phenomenon and point out that there is no reason to make the same mistakes. In our impatience to catch up with the rest of the developed world we must remember to preserve what was good in the old. It is important to bear in mind that once we lose human relationships, traditional values and lifestyles, family and kinship ties, we may never find them again. What was established over generations can be erased in one fell swoop of progress.

Do we want to be remembered as the generation that made that mistake?