Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis (left) and Union railway minister Suresh Prabhu during the signing of an MoU for the construction of a new line between Chiplun and Karad in Mumbai on Sunday. (Photo: Debasish Dey)
Cracking the whip on his subordinates, Union minister for railways Suresh Prabhu on Sunday demanded that they maintain utmost transparency in their work and prepare a monthly report card on rail projects, which will then have to be shared with the media.
The diktat comes two days after the five-hour Badlapur rail roko on August 12 that severely disrupted Central Railway schedule.
Mr Prabhu said the decision had been made in order to keep the 80 lakh patrons of suburban trains informed about the status of every project undertaken in the city.
This means railway officials in the city will be held accountable for tardy and incomplete projects.
The stern stance comes on the back of the transfer of Central Railway’s (CR’s) divisional railway manager Amitabh Ojha to Guntakal in Andhra Pradesh on the day the Badlapur rail roko occurred. Ravinder Goyal, who handled the same office in Bilaspar, was brought in to replace Mr Ojha.
“I have asked all the general managers of CR, Western Railway (WR) and Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation (MRVC) to meet with the media and give them a report on the current status of important city projects,” said Mr. Prabhu, after exiting a a review meeting with officials at Churchgate.
Henceforth, WR general manager G.C. Agarwal, chief managing director of MRVC Prabhat Sahai and newly-appointed CR general manager Akhil Agrawal will be expected to meet the media from time to time to fill them in on project works and hurdles.
“We want to maintain such a high level of transparency that commuters will know exactly what is happening in their areas,” added Mr Prabhu.
Most officials were tight-lipped about what Mr Prabhu said to the officials in the review meeting at Churchgate. “We were asked for an update on the projects that are currently underway,” was all that MRVC chief managing director Mr Sahai would divulge.
Officials present at the meeting said that though Mr Prabhu maintained a stoic demeanor, he was seething inside, as the Badlapur incident was still fresh in memory. “The minister seemed to be controlling his anger throughout the meeting and the atmosphere was very tense. Mr Ojha’s transfer was a shock to all,” said an official on condition of anonymity.
Other than the elevated corridors on the Harbour line and WR, the review of the 5th and 6th line was taken at the meeting. The 5th and 6th line will be the proposed separate line for the express trains on CR.
Once these lines become operational, express trains will be run on these tracks, thus freeing up space on the fast track to provide more local services.
