New Delhi (09.11.2021): If some well-placed sources are to be believed Railway Board Member (Traction & Rolling Stock) Rahul Jain, who held the GoI secretary-rank post, was on Monday evening sent on leave till retirement five months away. No one knows whether there was a continual build-up to this development or it just escalated to a flashpoint overnight or in a few days. But the move is considered rare for sending Jain on leave till retirement.

Although it is rumored that Jain had an exchange of heated arguments before he was shown the door, it is difficult to believe this since Government and Governance are carried out on well laid down rules and regulations. 

Officials put forward three different theories that may explain Jain’s unceremonious send-off that tantamounts to suspension without the application of the word suspension.

First, Jain presented a legacy problem that present minister Ashwini Vaishnaw is reportedly determined to bypass and overcome. For Vaishnaw, the cabinet post is not a gift. It's a responsibility and he may like to take any chance in fulfilling PM Modi’s dream for Indian Railways.

Secondly, traction and rolling stock have been a victim of at least 50 years of neglect at the altar of cheap populist measures resulting in the steady decline of railways' shares in freight traffic.  The whole idea of dedicated freight corridors and the production of modern high-speed rail coaches would suffer irreparable damage if the railways don't buckle up and speed up improvement in traction and rolling stock projects. Probably, Jain was not helpful or willing to be part of Vaishnaw's solution for improving the traction and rolling stock facilities of the railways. So, the estrangement between the Minister and his officer might have built up over time and not overnight.

Thirdly, being an agent of change, Vaishnaw had been constrained to dump many of the previous ideas. It is best reflected in his scrapping of the Indian Railway Stations Development Corporation (IRSDC) which was carved out for station redevelopment as also in throwing in the dustbin the proposal for importing rail coaches. He has opted for indigenous production of modern rail coaches that will simultaneously satisfy, absorb, and enhance Indian talents in design and development besides creating quality and normal jobs for thousands.

Net-net, Vaishnaw's action is seen in a positive light. If the Minister is able and successful in firing up the undoubted domestic design and engineering talents, he may find a place next to the most illustrious railway minister, Prof Madhu Dandavate, who revolutionized railway travel for common Indians by replacing the highly uncomfortable wooden and steel chairs and berths by cushioning them with a thick layer of foam. It may look ordinary now, but it was the most extraordinary development in a system that, even while preaching socialism, did everything to curse the lives of ordinary people.

After Prof Dandavate, someone has to do something for the railways. Let Vaishnaw be the man. Will he?

(By Rakesh Ranjan)