It has been six months since Vivek Sahai, the then member (traffic), Railway Board, was elevated to the seniormost post in the railways, that of board chairman. Yet, even so many months after his promotion to the top post, Mr Sahai continues to hold charge of the crucial post of member (traffic) as well, leading many within the railways to question the arrangement of Mr Sahai holding additional charge for so long despite there being eligible persons within the railways for the post of member (traffic).
The post of M(T) is among the most crucial ones in the railways given that the buck for train operations stops with the person occupying this post. Not only is the member (traffic) responsible for the running of both passenger and freight trains, the latter are the ones that also help the railways earn much-needed revenue.
And yet, railway minister Mamata Banerjee hasn’t yet found it worth the while to appoint a full-time member (traffic). Remarked a senior railways official: “This is somewhat odd, given that the Indian Railways has a workforce of nearly 1.5 million people. And yet, nobody suitable has been found to be appointed member (traffic).”
Mr Sahai, a 1973 batch Indian Railway Traffic Service (IRTS), was appointed Railway Board chairman on June 1 this year after his predecessor S.S. Khurana retired. He was then member (traffic), a post to which he had been elevated in late December 2009 after his predecessor, Shri Prakash, was appointed chairman of a standing high-powered committee constituted by Ms Banerjee.
However, since Mr Sahai became the board chairman, the railways has not been able to find a replacement for him. As railway sources pointed out, A.K. Goyal, who was member (staff) in the board and an IRTS batchmate of Mr Sahai, should have been made member (traffic), a post for which he was eligible. But this wasn’t done and he went on to seek premature retirement, sources added.
At present, according to sources the senior-most person eligible for the post of member (traffic) is V.N. Tripathi who again is cooling his heels as member (staff).