Laloo in control, snatches purchasing power of GMs

There days after taking over as Railway Minister, Laloo Prasad Yadav indicated that he wanted to centralise the procurement process — w...

There days after taking over as Railway Minister, Laloo Prasad Yadav indicated that he wanted to centralise the procurement process — worth Rs 22,000 crore annually — keeping it with the Ministry. He also made it clear that Bihar was the focus of his attention.

A five-page confidential note issued by Chairman of the Railway Board R.K. Singh on May 28, spelled out Laloo’s vision for the Ministry. Marked to all board members, additional members and general managers, it stated: ‘‘Minister of Railways during discussions with the CRB has desired the following issues to be examined and appropriate action should be initiated. These items were discussed in the full board meeting on May 27.’’

It was in this note — under the Procurement of Materials head — that the CRB stated that ‘‘instructions issued in this regard (decentralisation) should be reviewed to examine if any modification is necessary’’. The note added that ‘‘there has been some adverse feedback on the decentralisation of procurement’’.

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The procurement of materials was decentralised by Laloo’s predecessor Nitish Kumar in 2001 following allegations of corruption. The decision also helped speed up procurement, especially of safety-related equipment.

Most other items listed in the note pertain to Bihar, including better sitting arrangement at Patna station, improving the Railway-run college at Sonepur, upgrading the Jamalpur Training Institute and setting up of an EMU shed in Jhajha. Laloo also asked for speeding up of work on Ganga Bridge at Munger and increased RPF deployment at Mokama, Bariah and Barh.

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