October 3: Hard work seems to carry no weight in the Central Railway. Two months after receiving an award for excellent performance in passenger sales and freight loading, the former general manager of the CR, N C Sinha, has been unceremoniously transferred to the post of Director General, Research Development and Standards Organisation, Lucknow. Ironically, the reason being forwarded is his `incompetency' in running the railways.The RDSO looks after research and development of all the machinery parts that are used by the Indian Railways. The chairperson of the railway board, M Ravindra, in a letter to Sinha in July 1997, had even praised him for his performance in exceeding incremental freight loading to a level the railways had not achieved in the last two decades. ``As a token of the excellent work done, an award of Rs 20,000 is sanctioned for your railway,'' stated the letter bearing number D.O.No 97/TT(IV)/9/3 dated July 21, 1997.The transfer orders were passed despite the improved position of the CR in the last six months, from April to August 97. The total earnings of the CR increased by a phenomenal 21.02 per cent compared to last year. It earned Rs 1,769 crore this year compared to Rs 1,462 crore last year. As far as operating expenses are concerned, the railways were able to save 22 percent of its spendings as compared to last year, showed documents available with Express Newsline.CR officials in Mumbai allege that Sinha's transfer was not based on his track record, but was a purely political decision and was done with a vengeance. ``Sinha's shunting is a classic example of political considerations taking precedence over good performance,'' remarked a senior official.
