From October, one-stop solution for grievances at railway stations

You could demand a proper and immediate answer as a matter of right from the SMR, courtesy a recent Railway Board (RB) order that bestows overwhelming powers on station directors (as they would henceforth be called). 

The order insists on appointing junior administrative grade (JAG) level officers like senior divisional commercial manager as station directors in all A1 type stations like Central, Egmore, New Delhi and Mumbai VT on or before September 30. Armed with overwhelming powers, the station directors would be empowered to directly issue necessary orders to their subordinates of different departments who hitherto required their department bosses’ approval to undertake even major repairs. Significantly, power decentralisation has also been extended to A type stations, where the station directors would be one rank less than JAG officers. 

“Field staff will not have to follow the chain of command even while attending to major repairs. Most of it would be sanctioned by the station director. It will eliminate unnecessary time lapse and ensure early redressal of public grievances,” a highly placed Southern Railway officer told DTNext. 

At an operational level, the reformatory order would also help keep a tab on absentee and delinquent employees skirting their duty. “Imagine an officer vested with powers to issue suspension orders sitting a few paces away from employees. Absenteeism would definitely come down and it will automatically reflect in the quality of service offered to the commuters,” another railway officer remarked, explaining the benefits of the order. 

However, the officer quickly conceded that the reform could turn counterproductive if the station director is one who works at the beck and call of manipulative unions. If the order and expectations of the officers are something to go by, people can expect fewer unmanned ticket counters and unkempt platforms and train toilets, provided the order is enforced in true spirit.