With postings and transfer of dozens of heads of various rail divisions pending for over two months, a section of officials have stressed the need for timely rotation as such an uncertainty hampers work efficiency including taking up of new initiatives.
A divisional railway manager (DRM), appointed to look after the affairs of a rail division, has a two-year tenure after which the official gets transferred to an equivalent or promotional post in zonal headquarters.
The vacant posts are filled by fresh candidates who are selected based on well-laid-out guidelines.
The Railway Board said that the postings and transfers of DRMs are under process and rejected suggestions that "delay" has anything to do with their work efficiency.
“It is correct that we have a practice of transferring DRMs after two years of their services followed by fresh postings, however, it is not sacrosanct,” Dilip Kumar, Information and Publicity, Railway Board said.
“Sometimes, it gets delayed as well because of various reasons. I believe a sincere officer is unaffected by such considerations. He or she continues to work with the same degree of professionalism,” Kumar said.
Sources, however, claimed the "delay" is due to the new guidelines, released by the Board in September, awaiting approval of the Department of Personnel and Training.
A section of DRMs as well as safety experts say that after completion of the two-year term, officers hesitate to take new initiatives and mentally go into a "relieving mode" due to "sense of uncertainty".
“It is quite natural and normal for officers to slow down the pace of work or desist from taking any new initiatives when they near their two-year term because they start waiting for their new postings. A feeling of uncertainty grips them in the absence of a clear-cut posting order,” a DRM, who did not wish to be named, said.
He added, “It impacts freight operations which give a huge revenue to the Railways.” Another DRM requesting anonymity said that after Monsoon, a period during which freight operations suffer to some extent due to weather conditions, an aggressive approach is needed to recover the revenue loss and make the most of the good weather conditions till extreme winter sets in and fog starts playing a spoilsport.
“At this crucial time, if dozens of such officers are in relieving mode waiting for their transfer, railway revenues are bound to suffer,” he said.
“Not only that the delay also puts the Railway Board’s decision-making process regarding transfer and postings in bad light. It shows that Board officials are not forward looking and they plan poorly,” another DRM said.
“I am of the view that the announcement regarding transfer/posting should be made one or two months before the completion of a 2-year term so that the concerned officers remain well-informed and focused,” a safety officer, associated with one of the railway zones, said.
The Railway Board, on September 3, 2024, released fresh guidelines for DRMs’ selection introducing some new criteria. Important among them are “15 years of working experience with Railways” and “Annual Performance Appraisal Report (APAR) of the entire career of the official”.
According to sources, the new guidelines are under approval in the Department of Personnel and Training due to which there is a delay in the finalisation of the list of new DRMs leading to a hold-up in the transfer of existing DRMs.
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