Race for railway board chairmanship hots up
16 Jan 2013 7:10 AM IST
With the tenure of the present railway board chairman Vinay Mittal ending in May this year, hectic lobbying has already begun for the coveted post. The major names doing the rounds include Kul Bhushan (member, Electrical), VK Gupta (GM, Northern Railway) and Mahesh Kumar (GM, Western Railway).
If Kul Bhushan makes the cut, he will only serve for 14 months before his tenure ends while the other two will hold the post for two-and-a-half years each. A candidate must have one year’s service left, two years for GMs, as per the eligibility criterion for the post.
One of the most important ministries of the UPA govt, Indian Railways have a budget of Rs 1,20,000 crore of which Rs 50,000 crore is earmarked for the purchase of various items.
Meanwhile, a major purging spree is on in the railway board after Congress minister Pawan Kumar Bansal took over as Railway minister following the UPA reshuffle which happened after Trinamool Congress pulled out of government in September 2012. As a part of this cleansing process, many senior officials have been transferred out the railway board including Chandralekha Mukherjee, executive director (public relations), PP Mandal (EDME), Manobendra Ghoshal (EDME) and RC Jat (secretary). As per the buzz, another list of loyalists has been prepared who will be given marching orders soon.
Some major reshuffling is also on the cards in the railway board. DRM (Mumbai) Sandeep Silas might join in a more prominent position. Former executive director JK Saha, who presently works with West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, has been asked to repatriate his services from WB govt back to the railway board. A detailed dossier has been created about him and a section of the ministry is planning to turn vindictive for his ‘past sins’.
If Kul Bhushan makes the cut, he will only serve for 14 months before his tenure ends while the other two will hold the post for two-and-a-half years each. A candidate must have one year’s service left, two years for GMs, as per the eligibility criterion for the post.
One of the most important ministries of the UPA govt, Indian Railways have a budget of Rs 1,20,000 crore of which Rs 50,000 crore is earmarked for the purchase of various items.
Meanwhile, a major purging spree is on in the railway board after Congress minister Pawan Kumar Bansal took over as Railway minister following the UPA reshuffle which happened after Trinamool Congress pulled out of government in September 2012. As a part of this cleansing process, many senior officials have been transferred out the railway board including Chandralekha Mukherjee, executive director (public relations), PP Mandal (EDME), Manobendra Ghoshal (EDME) and RC Jat (secretary). As per the buzz, another list of loyalists has been prepared who will be given marching orders soon.
Some major reshuffling is also on the cards in the railway board. DRM (Mumbai) Sandeep Silas might join in a more prominent position. Former executive director JK Saha, who presently works with West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, has been asked to repatriate his services from WB govt back to the railway board. A detailed dossier has been created about him and a section of the ministry is planning to turn vindictive for his ‘past sins’.
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