Having st(r)ayed outside railways for a considerable period of time, my opinion about railway officers in general was not the true reflection of the ground realities. What really amazed me after joining the hot seat of Delhi was the tremendous capability and speedy potential realization that the functional officers at the field level displayed. On the contrary, officers of a relatively higher seniority who inhabited the head offices and Bhawan had absolutely no concern about the ground realities and with some exceptions of course, cared only for their personal welfare.
There is something about this great organization that allows officers to retain their talent and also goodness till about the selection grade level, beyond which a rapid deterioration in the zeal and commitment is amply visible. Perhaps this is directly related with the overall usefulness to the department that different units within the mammoth railway system have. And there is absolutely no doubt that the redundancy levels within the railways bureaucratic machinery are definitely much higher than anywhere else in the sarkari tantra.
Other than providing jobs, there is absolutely no rational justification for the existence of headquarters in our system. The Railway Board too, through its acts and deeds gives the appearence of a thoroughly mismanaged corporate office, not a ministry that it is supposed to be. The inability to make a positive contribution to the organization that pays them a handsome salary, has resulted in creation of hundreds of negative roadblocks in these two organizations. And the railways suffers in the bargain.
Sir,
ReplyDeleteDespite being part of the system, you've mustered the courage to speak your heart out.
Someone else would fear being taken up for insubordination for such an act.
One question still hogs my mind. Is there willingness at any level to bring the change that is required???
One Buddhist saying says - "Human Revolution in one individual paves way for human revolution in a thousand individuals".
You've shown the same Human Revolution in ITDC, MPDC and now as DRM/Delhi division. So did Dr. Sreedharan in DMRC. Officers in command, keep blaming the system and their subordinates for the mess. You could manage with the same set of staff to bring about a change in the system. DMRC has also drawn most of their staff from the Railways and is doing well.
So is it the top man's capability to relate with his people and allign them to the organizational goals or his personal charisma or some pheromonal traits in some individuals that they are capable of bringing about such change.
Two quotes come to my mind:
"SPEED OF THE ENGINE IS THE SPEED OF THE TRAIN"
"AN ORGANIZATION IS THE LENGTHENED SHADOW OF THE TOP MAN"
WAITING FOR MORE FROOM YOU