A Change In Babu Track

Things are changing in railways with more power and freedom to spend at the lower tiers

- Bhavna Vij-Aurora

Beyond the ballyhoo of the 1.08 lakh crore bullet train project and the much-delayed dedicated Freight Corridor—two projects being closely monitored by the prime minister’s office (PMO) and facing problems of land acquisition—the 165-year-old Indian Railways has undertaken a more formidable task of rebuilding itself.

While ways and means are being figured out to ensure that the big-ticket projects remain on track, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has something to show in the run-up to the 2019 general elections, the railways is also working on a longterm project to transform the behemoth into a self-sustaining organisation. The aim is to let the railway board work as a policymaking body and empower the field staff to run the organisation.

On an inspection visit to Dhanad division on November 30, 2017, railway board chairman Ashwani Lohani was informed about problems faced by employees in getting specialised medical treatment as the local railway hospital did not have adequate facilities. The same day, he put out a message on the WhatsApp group— Lohani and 68 divisional railway managers (DRMs) and other senior railway board officers are on it—saying that the power to empanel hospitals must be delegated to the DRMs. That was taken as his authorisation and an official circular was issued the same evening. Such a decision would otherwise have taken months after moving a file. An order over social media would have been considered blasphemous until a few months ago.