With barely a fortnight left for the formal operationalisation of the newly created South Coast Railway (SCoR) zone in Andhra Pradesh and Rayagada division in Odisha, the Railway Board has flagged serious delays in manpower deployment, warning that the sluggish pace of staff release by various railway zones could jeopardise the smooth launch of the two new railway entities.
Carved out of the East Coast Railway (ECoR) and South Central Railway (SCR) zones, the SCoR zone will be operational from June 1 along with the Rayagada division, which was created after the bifurcation of ECoR’s Waltair division. The SCoR will have a total route length of around 3,300 km, while the Rayagada division will manage 696 km of railway line, mostly handling iron ore, alumina, coal, and other mineral traffic from southern Odisha.
In a strongly worded communication reviewed by Business Standard, Director General (Human Resources) of the Railway Board Aruna Nayar has asked general managers of all zonal railways and production units to immediately process no-objection certificates (NOCs) and release employees selected for deployment in the new zone and railway division.
The Railway Board had earlier directed all zones to immediately relieve employees whose NOCs had already been granted and to dispose of pending NOC requests by May 8 to ensure the smooth operationalisation of the new railway entities. Zones were also directed to send compliance reports by May 11. However, compliance letters had not been received from many railways and manpower mobilisation remained far short of the target.
According to the latest status reviewed by the Board, railway zones are yet to take decisions on NOCs for more than 329 employees selected for SCoR headquarters and 271 employees for Rayagada division. Even among those already cleared, actual joining has remained poor.
Sources said only 183 employees had physically reported by May 11 against 526 approved transfers to SCoR headquarters. Similarly, for Rayagada division, only 47 employees had joined against 191 approved transfers, leaving critical manpower gaps just days before operationalisation.
“The figures clearly indicate that railway zones have not considered the matter seriously. Despite repeated instructions on April 1 and May 4, compliance letters from the railway zones are yet to be received,” the Board stated in the communication to zonal railways on Thursday.
Among the railway zones, the highest 217 transfers from SCR to SCoR were approved, followed by 182 from ECoR, 26 from South Western Railway, 20 from Southern Railway, 13 from Central Railway, and 10 from South Eastern Railway.
Concerned over the shortfall, the Railway Board has once again instructed general managers to immediately release employees whose NOCs have already been approved and ensure disposal of all pending requests within a day.
For NOCs approved after Friday, the staff will have to be relieved by May 20 and directed to report to SCoR and Rayagada by May 26. The Board has reiterated that the entire process must be completed strictly through the Human Resource Management System (HRMS).
Meanwhile, the Railway Board has called a high-level meeting via video conference on May 20 under the chairmanship of the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Railway Board, to closely monitor progress. General managers and principal chief personnel officers of all railway zones have been asked to attend with updated compliance details.
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