The committee that governs Indian Railways has asked regional offices to ensure disciplinary action is taken against officials whose negligence causes accidents or loss of life.
In a letter dated December 5 to all managing directors, including the heads of Konkan Railways and the Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation (DFCC), the railway board said they had found officials’ misconduct in various recent accident cases. Negligence, it is therefore crucial not only to establish that the official responsible for negligence is “reprehensible”, but to take action against him/her. HT has a copy of the letter.
“In various accident cases, it has been observed that sometimes negligence on the part of officials resulted in: (i) inadequate inspection of assets/work, (ii) inadequate supervision of train operations, (iii) inadequate site protection, (iv) ) non-compliance with prevailing rules in train operations, (v) design flaws, (vi) misconduct in operating systems, (vii) system malfunctions, etc.,” the letter said.
Accountability was one of the purposes of the decision, according to a railroad official familiar with the matter.
“..necessary in the ensuing train accident to result in loss of life and/or disruption of any vital line of communication for more than 24 hours or as deemed appropriate by the General Manager, the negligence of officials observing the circumstances leading to the above shall always be subject to investigation of the accident The paragraphs of the report relating to liability identify and make “reprehensible” the relevant officials of Regional Rail and/or the relevant PSU. The General Manager, on the advice of the Chief Chief Safety Officer, may decide to impose charges on these officials concurrently with the accident investigation report. to the extent that disciplinary action is taken,” the letter said.
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