Rail Budget: Corporate cloak for railway board

NEW DELHI: Railway minister Dinesh Trivedi has announced a slew of measures to restructure the apex Railway Board and give it a more professional and business-oriented outlook. In his budget speech, Trivedi said the board should be restructured along business lines rather than functional lines in sync with corporate objectives.
The idea is also to correct the perception that the state transporter was suffering from an “implementation bug” as suggested by the Kakodkar committee.
“There is need to infuse larger accountability and its structure must be aligned with organizational objectives. We need a system that delivers” the minister said. Railways has also decided to set up missions headed by directors in various areas for a three-year term as recommended by an expert panel headed by Sam Pitroda on modernization and resource mobilization.
The directors will report to the Railway Board. Each mission would be provided with appropriate budget and operational autonomy. In addition, a high-level committee would be set up to facilitate coordination among the missions, fast-track implementation and declog bottlenecks.
The expert panel had recommended implementation of the modernization programme following a ‘mission mode’ approach, with clear objectives, measurable milestones, tangible deliverables and well defined timelines.
The minister also announced induction of two new members — member (safety/research) and member (PPP/marketing) in the Railway Board. “The new members will be charged with the responsibility of finding ways and means of augmenting resources and providing further focus on safety,” Trivedi said.
The minister also talked about exploring the feasibility of including works tenders within the ambit of e-procurement to infuse transparency and efficiency. Railways has already shifted to e-procurement for purchase of stores in zonal railways.
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