Whispers Forum

With elections approaching in many states to be followed by 2024 general elections, the political parties are doling out freebies to woo voters. Freebies should be discouraged because ultimately people have to pay for them. They will have to pay more taxes, and the price of commodities will rise. Nothing will happen till May 2024. Prices will somehow be kept under control, but after May 2024? Poor public will pay for the generosity of the politicians. One shudders to think how steeply the prices will rise after the 2024 general elections.
Aditya Singh

Yesterday I read in the whispers about the Government appending to convert Chairman post to a political one and today read, the bureaucratic post to the Deputy chairman. This restructuring has been pending for several years, In the name of an autonomous body, it is borrowing, spending and creating debt left, right & the centre which the Government has to repay, not NHAI. Like in Public sector banks, CMD post has been bifurcated into Chairman and MD, which has brought larger transparency, the same is need of the hour for NHAI as the board are working in the most non transparent manner which is costing the lakhs of cr. in public exchequer .. late than never .. this is good move.
Dr Nitin ex-consultant NITI Aayog

This is one of the best master strokes by the Government if approved. Organisation which is having the highest debt burden including Arbitration claim, more than any big state, need to take steps for transparency. At present the organization is at its lowest point full of corruption due to its non transparency structure, weak cadre due to organization -Contractor nexus which need to be fixed in public interest. The whole organization from Chairman to Group B & C staff is being run with whims & fantasy rather than sound principles.
Priyanka
Sealed envelope procedure is a relic
The sealed envelope procedure is a relic of the past and should be terminated. There is no point of extending and delaying the benefits to an individual.
Shubh Chinkan

WIC has progressed over the years into a fine forum for all views. Excellent. The accident in Odisha is heart rending. The Indian Railways have clawed back to get systems functioning again. The entire effort was led by the Railway Minister himself on site. The cause of the accident is under deep investigation. We will soon see reports of what happened from investigators. A little patience will help in the WIC forum. It is very obvious that with General Elections 2024 approaching the forum will see contrarian political viewpoints. No issues on that if stated calmly and logically. An informed debate is wonderful.
Devindra

With due respect Mr A K Saxenaji, your comments are clearly showing that you are an anti-incumbent govt. I have seen your comments in this column for the last several years. Since you have retired, you cannot blame the entire system, as you were also part of, when you were in Govt. No doubt, India has progressed steeply after 2014 which no one can refute. Accident is an accident which cannot be accepted at any cost. But entirely blaming the Govt. machinery will not augur well for our future. We should go according to the merits of each and every action. We cannot rely on only old trains and new system and trains should be ensured, taking into consideration the security aspects and its viability. I hope you will look into the mirror at least now.
Ramesh

While having full faith in leadership of Prime Minister Modi and a technocrat and highly effective Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav one cannot understand the logic of sending Railway senior officers on deputation to various irrelevant departments like shipping, non Railways PSU and public Examination bodies like CBSE when Railways are short of staff as per media, parliamentary and CAG reports and where IAS Officers and specialist direct recruits can deliver better. It's a clear case of brain drain for Railways at the cost of public exchequer and safety. Looking to this latest accident the least the government and Railways ministry should do is to call back all its officers from various non Railways departments and non technical departments and put a brake on further deputations.
S C Saboo

Sadly, two passenger trains and a stationary freight train were involved in the accident. It will be simplistic to link the serial accidents to things like signal failure, interlocking etc. It is clearly a man-made disaster that was waiting to happen.
Where is the indigenously developed Kavach, the state-of- the-art anti-collision device? Were these not installed in the three trains? If not, why?
The malaise lies much deeper. Was the continuous negligence of the Railways in keeping thousands of Group B, C, D posts vacant in its anxiety to achieve economy in expenditure to create larger profits, the root cause? Conventional wisdom. The numbers of posts at higher echelons were, however, increased manifold as part of the cadre review for quicker promotions.
The Railway seems keener on launching high speed trains than strengthening the present infrastructure. The rickety tracks are not worthy to run high speed trains. The intent is to enhance political gains to reap votes in the coming elections. Money is being spent lavishly for renovating platforms and stations while the trains are not well looked after. Mere cosmetic touch to woo the gullible public.
The Railway Board, has, in the meanwhile, recommended CBI investigation, a clever move to cover up the whole issue of accidents. The Supreme Court (SC) is urged to immediately intervene and restrain the central government from CBI investigation. Let SC order setting a judicial commission for a thorough probe.
Non-compliance of Parliamentary and Statutory Reports is a scam. The government refuses to learn from its history of mistakes and blunders.
Consider Parliamentary Standing Committee Reports condemning Railway's negligence. And worse, what about the damning indictment of the Railway's functioning by the CAG.
But, who cares to peruse these reports and implement their recommendations.
Disempowerment of the Commission of Railway Safety (CRS) that reports to the Ministry of Civil Aviation, was in the news recently but for wrong reasons. Can it be trusted? Why is an independent judicial commission not created for a comprehensive inquiry?
Finally, Will Ashwini Vaishnaw the union Railway Minister, like the late Lal Bahadur Shastri ji, own the moral responsibility of the accident and resign or, in the alternative, be sacked by the PM?
A K Saxena (A former civil servant)

With thousands in refugee camps and complete breakdown of law and order and mutual trust among tribal and non tribals gone which may spread to other neighboring states sharing crucial border with enemical nations which may exploit it for their benefits the BJP in national interest should take the services of Shri Ram Madhav former BJP General Secretary once again for North East as he was instrumental in creating a goodwill for the party and held in high esteem by all stakeholders in North East and knows tribal and non tribal aspirations and can easily work out peace once again in North East. The national spirit and belongingness created by our Prime Minister Modi in North East should be further strengthened by peaceful negotiations with our own citizens.
R C Saboo