Roughly 50% of the total complaints (around 17,000) received by the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) in 2011 were regarding railway officials.
In the following year, when as many as 29,000 complaints were lodged with the anti-corruption watchdog, those concerning the railways far outnumbered the allegations levelled against any other departments.
Allegations of corruption in the national transporter are not restricted to any particular department or category of officials, but pervades all levels, and a large number of them pertains to procurement practices.
A committee on public procurement, headed by former Competition Commission of India chief Vinod Dhall, found that the fault lies in the system of registration of suppliers being followed in the procurement process. The vendor list approved often tends to be very small, keeping away potential bidders who could bring down prices.
The railways procures goods worth Rs 20,000 crore annually, from vendors registered with the Research, Design and Standards Organisation (RDSO). With mega projects like the Rs 95,000-crore dedicated freight corridor being lined up, the procurement by railways is all set to shoot up
“The system of registration discourages potential bidders from participation. It restricts competition and enhances the possibilities of cartelisation and corruption. It is not an open bidding system,? the panel said in its 2011 report.
The Central Bureau of Investigation, in the past two years, filed FIRs or preliminary inquiry reports in a dozen of alleged corruption cases in the railways. The recent incident of Railway Board’s member (staff) Mahesh Kumar, asking a contractor to pay rail minister’s nephew for his appointment to the post, member (Electrical), in lieu of awarding him major railway contracts, bears testimony of the railway’s procurement policy being prone to manipulation.
“The signaling contract for the entire 3,300 km of freight corridor is around Rs 10,000 crore. Other projects such as loco and rail coach factories also include a lot of private procurement,? a former railway official told FE.
Amid allegations of corruption in procurement, the railways is, however, still in denial mode.
?The rules for entering into supply contracts with the railways are clearly laid out and no officer can supersede it,? said a senior rail official of the stores department. That, obviously, may not be the case always. In March, for instance, the CBI booked two retired members (mechanical) of the Railway Board and a serving joint-secretary-rank officer in a corruption case involving procurement of safety items for freight wagons.
?If the procedures are followed strictly, there’s nothing that an individual can do. There’s nothing that can be left to discretion if there’s proper vigilance. The quantities and requirements for procurement can definitely be manipulated but the finance commissioner (FC) can object to it. He can even object to the working of the rail minister,? said AV Poulose, a former railway finance commissioner.