RAIL PSUs UNDER SCRUTINY FOR GIVING UNAUTHORIZED FINANCIAL INCENTIVES

Railtel sources said that despite the body having its own cadre that is enough to handle the operations, successive CMDs are bringing officials close to them on deputation to the PSU.

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A complaint received by the Chief Vigilance Commission earlier last month has revealed that public sector undertakings under the Ministry of Railways, including Railtel, IRCTC, Concor and IRCON paid unauthorized perks to officials who were deputed to these organizations despite strict and clear guidelines from the Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance, not to do so.

As per the documents and complaints, a total of Rs 19.74 crore was paid to deputationists on the orders of the heads of these PSUs, with the most—Rs 8.86 crore of public money—being paid by Railtel. On top of that, despite a Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report that called for the recovery of this unauthorized payment, none of these PSUs, as per the complaint received by the CVC, has agreed to do so, leading to speculations that the said unauthorized amount was released by former and present top brass of the PSUs in lieu of benefits.

Railtel sources said that despite the body having its own cadre that is enough to handle the operations, successive CMDs are bringing officials close to them on deputation to the PSU.