g REPORT OF THE RAILWAY CORRUPTION ENQUIRY COMMITTEE 1953-55 GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYSCourt I—Iereopucnon a ee ee Approach to the problem .. Higher Officials. — Lower staft Se Railway Employees’ Unions. Business community (Caartes [11—Boorsna oF Goons ano Pascats Trarric A. Modes of corruption . B. Th ane oft el in involved c Casa of corrptoa ¥ D. Roeponsbiity ef the seing pblic E Dae nin meu hi arpa for corrapticn .. (Clansification of goods one He : Ace isin wig ut, aris wd Dig Receipts for parcels and ee = ‘Arrangement for clearance of seasonal traffic Performance at transhipment points Syatem of Daal, Mukadame, Maratan or Brokers, Facilities in the goéde chads Provision ofa punching machine for forwarding notes. ‘Adjustment of the registration fee against the freight... lesan of permits for entry into marahaling yards and (Crarren IV—Boonmna or Passancans ano Luccaas .. Booking of passengers Booking of haggage Revervation of berths. Fraudulent use of tickets ‘Ticketless travelling 0... Harssassent to illiterate passengers Paracoarns Patten 110 s Mo 0 vB 1-9 18 -8 0 8 » 8 2 ws BH Iw HH 8 % aw 3” wis 8 5 » 6 0 16-17 4“ 7 a 18 5-0 18-0 st a 52-3 NZ HH 2% 3S 2 56 2 37 B 38 3B Ed 3B o rd 61 uu a B 6 Bw 4 % 6 rd 6 % nh NM @ a n a n ns n a0 B ee 4 x(Cuapren V—Caraninc anp Verona. (Caurrae VI—Encintsrinc. tee = Awarding of Engineering ‘contracts Execution of contracts Payment of bills to contractors Extension of time limita Deviation of contracts Arbitration clause = ‘Misuse of Railway Material Recruitment of labour ‘Misuse of labour ‘Crapren VII—ConpansaTion CLArMs On INDIAN RAILWAYS. 99-100 102 103104 "105-107 A Coun of ihe of aed ce memures Shri A.A. Brown's Report Shri BLN. Mullick’ Report Legal work on Railways Shri Ramaswamy Iyer's Report B. Crime on Railways C. Settlement of Claims D. Assessment of damigeto goods. E. Re ponaibilty ofthe Railways as carriers 108-109 2-143, 14-116 we WIHIB . 4 » 1286-131 136-137 Q 136-140 + Mt . “2 F. Linking up the freight structure with tramait time. * Cuapren VIII—Puntic Compuanvrs an Gevarat EFFICIENCY by the Railways B, Complaints Organon Rallye C. General efficiency . Canrrea IX—Inrernat. Workin oF THE RAILWAYS... Appointments ‘Training of Railway employees Increments, ae P.T.Osand postings Selection Boards ‘The Medical Department on the Ralva Misuse of Railway materials Misuse of Railway labour @ Modes of corruption among staff inter ce. 43 . M415 A. “Analysis of the complaints received and desk with 46 147148 . M-15E 152-160 2 160 153-1600 154 155 156 157 158 159 3-8 35-36 7 37-39 0-43 a4 HS B46 6-4 4748 5152 52-53 54-56 6142 7-88 e n-B 76-81 76-81 16-11 7-18 78-79 nD 60-81Panacearns Pacts Craprex X—(1) Worrinc or tue Spacut Pouce Estanuisoent .. .. 161~180 A. Gaoasis and work. ws 16ND B. Comparative data cf the work dove =... 176 C. Didiicultios experienced by the Special Police Establishmest 0... ww. 180 (i) Wonnine or Tux Avm-Consurrion OncAnisanien ON THE Raruways: Trees |] Caurrer X1—Anunusrunive Musas 199-22 190—222 - 118 a 1 + 184 + 195 c 196 Enfant of Rule 8 to 13 ofthe Ray Ser! : eae 198 Personnel welfare _ W-2 Ie ai ictus 23 Publicity - Ss 24 Prycholopial eppraaeliy . 15-2 B. Punitive Measures «+ WB—B2 Government Railway Police w Watch and Ward Department + 26 Railway Protection Police a Anti-Corruption Oreniationa on the Rao ‘ind the Special Police Establishment sf mB ‘Simplification of Enquiry Procedure . 2 ‘Summary powers — . . Bo Confiscation of property . BI Delegation of powers for disciplinary action . . B2 (Cuaprer XII—Lecat Mrasures + BI Amendment of the Indan Raby et . BA Setting up ofa High Power Departmental Tribunal 2529 Cuarren XI!1—Miscellaneous Matera . W288 A. Pilferageofcoal oe WO B. Ta of ary property econ ca . mM C. Cinder and Ash Contracts we 6 D. Licensed porters = M120 E. Railway Grainshope + BI F. Railway Service Commissions = BIB G. Light Railways... . BI H. Stores Departments on Railways . Be-28 2-8 as 6-85 6-88 894 B15, B12 105-112, W215, N23 13 U3 M3 13-14 6 "4 Nets, 16-18 6 6-118 NI-129 119-120 120 120-121 121123 1B 1316 124125 13128 18-129Preis Crartee XIV—Suocany oF Recommmbanots 130=151 Aveanom 1 Questionnsire—Genend eae SS ASE wT Questionnaire for the Railway Administrations =o... ww, STIL » TIL Questionnaire for the State Governments _ iG » IV. Questonsaize forthe Inspector Gener, Spec Pole Exublshinet + 18 1» V- Questionnsite for the National Federation of Indian Ralweymen sod indivi. dual Railway Unions. 164 = VI Supplementary questionnaire for the Railway Administrations... 165~166 el Sutument showing the tarn-round of wagons and the average ladon the B,C syatem on the Indian Railways for the period from April 1940 to May, 1954... 167—I71 » VILL Statement showing the turn-round of wagons and the average lead on the M. G. system of the Indian Railways for the period from January 1944to May, 1954. 172175 «IX Statement showing the strength of the Special Police Establishment... 176 . 5 apr pe buena hla attached to the Special Police Establishment im » Xt Suc cn a dal ih ye Da Sp Pe Each ment during 1951 ~ — » Xt Su fin i at ih i Spd Pali Establish- ment during 1952 i, Poorest yh tees Ww XI Summa of cantina ih ye Dai So Pain Establishment during 1953 - 180 &)CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION The problem of corruption in the Railways is nothing new. It has existed from the time that the Railways were built in India. During the earlier periods, under company management, the wages of the station staff were very low and what they collected as ‘ bakshis * or ‘mamul' from the public for the service wes connived at so long as the extra money was voluntarily given and did not give rise to. any serious complaints from the public. This form of corruption was, therefore, almoet universal. 2. In their report in 1937, the Wedgewood Committee commented :— “ Dishonesty.—This is a vice which is alleged to be endemic in the i in other Indian public services. It is much more diffi ility, but none the less we feel that determined efforts must be made to put an end to it. ‘So far as our information goes it ranges from the mere offering and acceptance of * customary ' tips for.duty done to.the exaction of heavy payments by responsible officials as the price of securing the performance of duties which are clearly incumbent on them without payment.”*.” This would indicate the extent of corrupt practices. During the second world war, the entire resources of the Railways were mobilised for the movement of Defence Forces and materials, with the result that the movement of other commodities suffered aheavy set-back. This led to the system of priorities which was introduced to regubate the movement of goods. The transport facili ilable after meeting the require- ments of the Defence Department were extremely limited. ‘The result was that various new forms of corruption crept into the Railways. Sometimes, merchants paid even athousand rupees to secure a wagon for the transport of their goods. The organisation created for granting of priorities was also not free from corruption. Similarly, owing to frequent movements of troops, passenger trains were heavily overcrowded, and varying amounts were paid to secure accommodation. Even after the termination of the war, as the transport position remained unsatisfactory, these corrupt practices have continued. 3. The Indian Railway Enquiry Committee of 1947, appointed to make a general survey of the working of the Railways, though it did not specifically examine the question of bribery and corruption, expressed the view that the evil was there and needed tackling. It, therefore recommended that rule 11* of the Railway Servants’ © The rule reads as follows : “Control over immovable property held or acauired by Railway Servanls—Evecy Railway servant of date Tor service uncer tho Government mast make to the Government, tous the und cna & delantion ofall movable property which may from time to ine be hed or aired By hi o by is wife or by any member of his family living with, or in any way dependent upon him. _Such declaration should state the district within which or the prince or Chief in-India within whose territories the property is situated and should give euch further information ax the Government may by general or special order requi CER-1,2 Conduct Rules, Appendix XI of the State Railway Establishment Code, Volume I, about the declaration of immovable property by a Railway servant, should be rigidly enforced. Unfortunately, even this recommendation remained a dead letter. In the Railway Ministry's report on the action taken on the Indian Railway Enquiry Committee's Report, 1947, it was stated that the question of declaring property owned by Railway servants would be tackled on the lines decided upon in general by the Home try. The matter was pending with the Home Ministry till March, 1955, with the result that no action was taken on this recommendation. Serious complaints it corrupt practic in the Railways continue to be voiced in Parliament. The claims bill of the Railways has also remained abnormally high. ‘The Minister for Railways and Transport, in his budget speech in the Parliament on the 18th February, 1953, referred to the prevalence of corruption amongst the Railway staff and declared that Government would be shortly appointing a committee of Members of Parliament and, if necessary, a few others to report to the Government, the extent of corruption on Railways and the means to achieve its elimination. |. Appointment of the Committee.—The Government of India notified the appointment of the Committee,in their press communique dated the 9th September, 1953, in the following terms :— ““In pursuance of the decision of the Railway Minister to constitute a Committee of Members of Parliament and a few others to enquire into the prevalence of corruption on Indian: Railways, it has been decided to set up a Com- mittee consisting of the following :— 1. Shri Hriday Nath Kunzru 2. Shri Shahnawaz Khan 3, Dr. W.S. Barlingay 4. Shri K. S. Hegde 5, Shri K. L. More 6. Dr. A. Krishnaswami 7. Shri K. Raghuramiah 8. Shri P. S. Rajagopal Naidu 9. Shri Ramsubhag Singh 10. Shri S. C. Samanta 1. Shri Sarangadhar Das 12, Shri M, D. Upadhyay. The Chairman of the Committee will be Shri Hriday Nath Kunzru.3 2, The terms of reference of the Committee will be as under :~= To enquire into and report on—~ (Extent of corruption prevalent among various categories of Railway employees in their dealings with the public. (@)_ Methods adopted by the staff concerned, (iii) The causes of corruption. (iv) Responsibility of the using public. (e) Defects, if any, in rules and regulations which leave loopholes for corruption, (vi) Remedial measures, both administrative and Jegal, to eradicate this evil in all its aspects.” ‘The actual appointment of the Committee was made on the 3rd October, 1953. Shri H. N. Trivedi, an officer of the Transportation (Traffic) and Commercial Depart- ment of the Eastern Railway, was appointed as the Secretary of the Committee. 5. After some preliminary inettings, Shei Hidday Nath Kunzca resigned from the Committee as he was appointed a member ofthe States Reorganisation Commission. ‘As a consequence, the Minister for Railways and ‘Transport made. the ‘ollowioy announcement in his speech introducing the Railway budget for 1954-55 + ++;Pandit Kunzru has been appointed a member of the States Reorganisation Commission and the Committee had thus to lose his valuable services. Tam, however, glad to announce that Acharya J.B. Kripalani has kindly agreed to guide the deliberations of that Committee in his place.” 3rd October, 1953 to 18th February, 1954, 6. The first three meetings of the Committee were held in Delhi under the chairmanship of Pandit Kunzru, It was decided to issue detailed questionnaires as under :— (1) General questionnaire (Appendix 1), (2) Questionnaire for the Railway Administrations (Appendix II). (3) Questionnaire for the State Governments (Appendix III). (4) Questionnaire for the Inspector General, Special Police Establishment (Appendix IV). (5) Questionnaire for the Railway Employees’ Unions (Appendix V). (©) A supplementary questionnaire for the Railway Administrations (Appendix VI). ive their replies to the questionnaires by the 31st Decener 1953 03.9 ‘As the oe ES plies received was small, this date was extended upto the 15th January, 1954; but the replies received subsequent to this date were4 also taken into consideration. The number of replies to the general questionnaire received from different scurces was as under : @ Chembes ol Commrce (00 5 8 8 | 1a, (ii) Trade Associations 0. eB (iti) Passenger Associations... 80 (io) Co-operative Societies. ©) Mamcpeities 8 (vi), Members of Railway Users’ Consultative Committees... 26 (vi) M. Ps. and M. L. As. oe UG (viii) Individual members of the public .. 6... 254 Total... AnD 19th February, 1954 to 20th May, 1954, 7. As the Parliament session was on, and the Committee consisted of Members of Parliament, it was not possible for the Committee to undertake any tours tc collect evidence. In order to expedite the work, it was, therefore, decided that the Committee should commence the collection of evidence in Delhi itself. After the replies received to the questionnaires issued by the Committee were summarised and scrutinised, the work of collecting oral evidence from the various parties including the Members of the Railway Board and other high Railway and police officials, the representatives of the Railway Employees’ Unions, the representatives of various public bodies like Chambers of Commerce, Merchants’ Associations; as also the individuals commenced from the 2nd April, 1954 and continued upto the 18th May, 1954. The Committee also paid a visit to the goods shed at New Delhi and the parcel office at Delhi Jn. on the 19th and 20th May, 1954 respectively. During the above peried, the Committee held in all 14 sittings and examined 46 witnesses. 10th June, 1954 to 15th February, 1955. 8. During the above period, the Committee undertock five tours; the first commenced from Madras from the !0th of June, 1954 and ended at Madras on the 29th June, 1954 on Southern Railway, the second commenced from Nagpur on the 18th July, 1954 and ended at Delhi on the 10th August, 1954 on the Central Railway and broad gauge portions of the Western Railway, the third commenced from Delhi on the 13th October, 1954 and ended at Delhi on the 13th November, 1954 mainly over the Northern and Eastern Railways, the fourth commenced from’ Delhi on the 6th January, 1955 and ended at Delhi on the 21st January, 1955 mainly over the Assam section of the North Eastern Railway, and the fifth commenced from Delhi on the 8th February, 1955 and ended at Delhi on the 15th February, 1955 over the metre gauge portion of the Western Railway. The Committee visited 37 places, had 139 sittings and examined 1,150 witnesses.16th February, 1955 to 9th July, 1955. 9. During this period, the Committee had 25 sittings to finalise its report. 10. Acknowledgments.—We wish to record our thanks to the Members of the Railway Board, the General Managers of the Railways and other Railway officials for providing detailed information and making necessary arrangements for the work of the Committee, to the representatives cf the State Governments, of the Chambers of Commerce and other public bodies, of the Railway Employees’ Unions, the Inspector General, Special Police Establishment, New Delhi, and his officers, and other indivi- duals for co-operating with the Committee by furnishing useful information and suggestions through correspondence and oral evidence. ‘We also take this opportunity of expressing our warm appreciation of the services of our Secretary, Shit H. N. ‘Trivedi and of the staff working trler Bane ate Secretary hes been untiring in his attention to the business of the Commttes ead i largely due to his efforts that we have been able to cover a large part of leds aries our tours and to rake full use of our time. His ability: industsy and tact hove ae invaluable to us id performing our deliete task. Our staff headed by the Seven tendent, Shri K. N. R, Pillay, have bad to work under heavy pressure, epecally decieg the tours, when they had to work even On Sundays and often late in the eveninee Our gratitude is due to them for the effcieney and loyalty with which they worked6 CHAPTER 11 PROBLEMS OF CORRUPTION IN ITS SETTING 11. From the terms of reference it will be seen that the Committee were com- missioned to enquire into corrupt practices on Railways and suggest administrative and legal measures for eradicating them, with a view to promoting efficiency and intrcducing a healthy moral tone in the administration. In addressing ourselves to this task, we feel it proper to make a few general observations. 12. At the very outset explanation is called for as to why the Railway ad- ministration should have been singled out for this investigation, This question cropped tp again and again in our discusnons with numerous oficial witnesses,” leis a question which the authorities appointing the Committee can best answer, "So far as we are concerned, we fel that the Railways are not only our largest nationalised undertaking in this country, but also the biggest utility concern. Its operations must therefore be judged by these two considerations. No industrial concern caring for ite customers ana hts reputation can allow widespread corruption among its employees. Moreover our transport system has direct, constant and widespread impact on the general public. Ina Welfare State, the work of such anationalieed utility concem, the efficiency with which itis operated, the services that if fenders to customers and its contribution to the national production have a special significance... It provides a test of the capacity af the admincitrative machinery to undertake the ‘responsibility of running a nationalised industry, 13, Today the annual budget of our entire Railway system aggregates to about three fifths of the general revenues of the Union of India. The annual revenues obtained from Railways exceed the gross budgetary revenues of several ccuntries in the world, Our Railways employ today. nearly: ten lakhs of people. The number of ngers annually carried is of the order of 120-crores and the weight of goods is about 0 crore tons. ‘This gives a rough indication of the people who come in contact with the Railway Staff. The responsibility of keeping this enormous and ccmplex machinery of administration in a state of efficiency and integrity is a matter of great concern to the government and the nation. Corrupt practices in this our largest nationalised utility enterprise require to be watched with great vigilance and concern. Effective administrative and other measures calculated to root out or mitigate the evil of corrup- tion are vital to our national life. The question of offering justification for the present enquiry therefore should not arise. 14. We realise, however, that Railwaymen are not a separate community. They are drawn from the same social milieu as employees in other government departments and are subject to the same temptations as other sections of the community. Corruption in other Government departments and in other walks of life is bound to affect the honesty and integrity of Railwaymen, and it would be futile to expect them to be absolutely honest in a general atmosphere of corruption, dishonesty and sharp business practices. It is, therefore, essential that, while taking steps for eliminating corruption amongst the Railwaymen, the general aspects of the problem are not lost sight of. 15. It may not also be forgotten that, in the last resort, effective check to any anti- social activity can come from a vigilant and honest police force both in its investigating and executive branches. It is difficult for a department to discharge its special func- tions and also effectively tackle the anti-social elements working in its ranks. It has not the necessary machinery to do this. The first essential condition for eliminating corruption in any governmental department is therefore to have an efficient and honest police force, trained. in the latest and most scientific methods of detecting and apprehending crime,7 16. Itis also true that the lack of adequate civic sense and business morality are te ‘some extent responsible for the encouragement of corruption amongst the Raley staff. In this connection, we entirely agree with the observations made by the Indian Railway Enquiry Committee, 1947, “At present, some of the travelling and business public appear to acquiesce in 1¢ payment of additional premia for service, and to consider it ‘ smart’ to obtain by bribery an advantage to which they are not entitled.” We also regret to note an increasing tendency among certain sections of the public including the rising generation to indulge in ticketless travelling. It has further come to our knowledge that often visitors to political conferences and similar large gatherings think it their privilege to travel without tickets. This attitude will have to change radically if the atmosphere in which corruption and bribery prosper is to be cleared, APPROACH TO THE PROBLEM. 17. During the course of our investigation, we found to our regret that the correct approach to the problem was generally lacking, We give considerable importance to this because we feel that administrative and legal measures would be practically useless if a Proper approach to the problem is:hot made both by officials and non-officials, , 18. Higher Officials—We ‘are extremely scrry to record that the general attitude of the Railway employces was one of resentment at the appointment of the Committee. "This was veiled inthe cace of high offcils. “They felt tat they had been singled out and held to undeserved odium while corruption in other Government departments was no less. One Chief Engineer went so far as to tell us that to ask him any question about corruption was to insult him, He stated that the rules and regulations of the Engineering Department were so perfect that there was no scope for corruptien, At one of the District Headquarters where we received various complaints from the public, when we questioned the D.T.S. whether he had received any, he replied that he had received no specific complaints. Though such were the answers often given in the oral evidence, in their written replies to the questionnaire, most of the admin‘stra- tions have given quite an exhaustive list of methods employed by the staff to exact illegal gratification from the public and to misuse and misapproriate Railway property. Generally, the officers felt that whatever possible could be done was being done and that nothing further would yield any results. They, however, insisted that their powers should be increased to enable them to take prompt and drastic action against erring and suspect subordinates. Some high officials opined that even an efficient and honest officer would make no appreciable difference in the volume of corruption. However, most of these, when confronted with a comparison of performance as between an efficient and honest officer and one who was inefficient and reputed to be corrupt, had to admit that under the former the extent of corruption would undoubtedly decrease. "There were also officers who felt helpless and thought that nothing could be done to eradicate existing corruption. This attitiide of complacence or in some cases even of despair would present formidable difficulties in the way of any reform. The men at the top generally fail to realise that they are in a vulnerable and at the same time ina privileged position. They are vulnerable to critcism especially as they wield power, authority and influence. They can get the right thing done and check evil, They are in a privileged8 position because itis they who set the moral tone to our administration. Shri Gorwala, in his report on Public Administration, remarks : “Ministers, Legislators, officials—all fall within the ambit of public disapproval. There is a tendency to believe the worst Of every one and there are not very many against whom nothing at all is said. The lack of integrity alleged takes many shapes ; patronage, undue interference, actual corruption, these are all different forms of the disease which large sections of the embittered public believe has infected the body politic.” This widespread distrust and suspicion are_perhaps due to the disappointment of the public from quarters from which they had high expectations. The decline in efficiency is largely due to the arbitrary exercise of patronage in the provision of jobs and promotions by persons of high rank, The exercise of patronage, according to Gladstone, is an evil which should be avoided:by administra- tors concerned with high policy. Unfortunately, we have not as yet built up the tradition, and the testimony of witnesses before our Committee gives us the idea that, apart from administrative reforms and punitive measures, there is great need for higher officials to play the role of leaders in a reform movement. In an atmosphere of favouritism, efficiency is at a sad discount; the-honest employee considers it more useful to emulate the arts of a courtier and forgets the need for contributing his best efforts to the enterprise and the country. We do not suggest that all the inferences and conclusions drawn by witnesses who have testified before us should be accepted without question. ‘They are, however, sufficiently serious to warrant a searching of hearts in high places and adoption of healthy conventions designed to create a better atmosphere amongst the employees in general. We also noticed a marked tendency among officials to throw the entire responsibility either on the lower staff or on the mercantile community and the public, 19. Lower staff.—The lower staff, while admitting corruption among their ranks, said that they had to satisfy the illegal demands of higher officials. They also asserted that those among them who did not fallin line with current practices or exposed corruption were victimised by their colleagues and sometimes even by higher officials. They further stated that they were tempted to accept illegal gratification because of the low wages paid to them and the temptations held out by the public, especially the rich mercantile community. 20. Railway Employees’ Unions.—We regret to say that the majority of the Railway Emplcyees’ Unions have given no serious thought to the prevalence of cor- ruption amongst their members. In the evidence given by their representatives, they invariably blamed the higher officials and held that the latter's demands obliged the lower staff to indulge in bribery and corruption. With this attitude of mind, the Unions have taken no active steps to eradicate corruption from among their members. It is also unfortunate that, in order to gain and retain local popularity, the main acti- vities of the Unions have been concentrated more on the demands for increase of the privileges and emoluments of their members and on individual cases rather than on devoting their attention to broader issues. Yet it is pretty obvious that no Trade Union can function satisfactorily and exercise healthy influence over its members, unless it cleanses its own house. No effective case can be made for enhanced emolu- ments unless corruption stops. 21, Business Community.—During the course of their evidence, Chambers of Commerce and other Trade Associations frankly admitted that they had not given9 any thought to the problem of corruption so far as it was encouraged by the trading community; nor had they thought of taking any steps for its eradication, Their organisations were mainly interested in the problems that directly affect the it ti I ted in the problems that directly affect the immediate interest of their constituents. This, fe red view. It cal : ce realised that any shady practices indulged in by an a merchant to porary advantage bound to act as a boomerang and affect adversely the Breve 0 ae commerce and industry as a whole. If trade and industry are to thrive, adequate transport, without any crampling effects of corruption, is the sine qua non. D2lays in transport and rivalry amcng merchants leading to corruption affect industry commerce adversely. So far as delays are concerned, they can be remedied only by th the Railway authorities, but organised corruption is something about which trade is can do a great deal. therefore, in the larger interests of the merchant community, as well as the public on whose patronage they and their business thrive, that the Chambers of Commerce and other trade associations should initiate a concerted oe eradicate corruption from among their ranks and reducing its incidence on ways, 22, _ While making these observations about the attitude of the different parties, itis not our intention to say that the correct approach to the evil has been totally lacking. During the course of collecting evidence, we have come across individuals—Rail officials, merchants and members of the Trade Unions and the public—who have shown a correct appreciation of the problem. However, their number is small and it will be necessary to create an atmosphere by which this minority can be increased and their influence made effective for the public good, One unfortunate feature was the tendency among many officials and some con-aicine to throw the entire blame on our national character. This indicated an effort to rationalise and justify and get reconciled to the continuance of a evil. Those who advanced this argument did it with a conscious or sub-conscious idea that they themselves were not affected by this national character. They also failed to realise that bribery and corruption are not unalterable traits of the character of any people. ‘These are as capable of eradication under favourable sccial conditions asof extension under unfavourable circumstances. “National character’ in this respect can be moulded, given Proper ¢ conditions, the most important being leadership. In our life-time we have seen that, before Gandhiji came on the political field, % was, said that we Indians lacked patriotism and a spirit of sacrifice and could not stand up inst tyranny. A few years of Gandhiji’s guidance and the leadership he created all this. We shed our fear and were patriotic enough to make the highest demanded for the freedom of our country. Wherefrom came this fearless- ness and a spirit of sacrifice ? It was there. It came to the surface under fa circumstances created by the high example set by the leadership in _ walks of life. If, in the matter of corruption too, a correct lead is given, the evil can be substantially minimised. A great responsibility, therefore, rests on public leaders and high officals. 24. All this, however, does not mean that there has been no improvement in the working of the Railways over the conditions that prevailed during or i after the last world war. Yet the extent of corruption is still so great and widespread that a concerted drive will have to be made and sustained for a long period to have any appreciable effect, and the example, we feel, will have to be set by the leadership in public life and in administration. We lay stress on integrity in high quarters, because we have come across instances where the actions of high officials were not entirely above board, 2-26 25. We were often told that it is generally difficult to produce sufficient proof corruption to obtain a conviction in a court of law though there might be strong aS reasonable suspicion coupled with persistent public talk against an individual. such cases, we are of the opinion that action should be taken on the lines su; lie fhe extract given below from Chapter XV of the Hyderabad Economy mittee sport. “Corruption, it is said, is often difficult to prove. All the more reason why there should not be the least hesitation in investigating every matter in which there is ground for complaint. Punishment, too, for corruption should be exemplary, the least being dismissal from service. There is, in this matter of corruption, one clear criterion which can be of great assistance in assessing the possibility or otherwise of its existence. Reputation can be taken as almost conclusive. It may be said of an officer who has not that particular fault, that he is harsh or rude or lazy, but it may be laid down almost as a rule that, over a period, it will not be said, of an officer who is honest, that he is dishonest. Consequently, when a strong aroma of corruption has gathered round an officer, very rarely will it be wrong specially and thoroughly to investigate his actions, his financial position and the financial position of such of his relatives and. close friends as seem to (have \acquired a somewhat large share of the good things of the world.’ No such officer should, in any case, be kept in any position of responsibility or influence.” 26. In regard to the integrity of the Government officials in key positions, the following suggestion made by the Planning Commission in the chapter on ‘Reform of Public Administration’ in the ‘First Five Year Plan’ should be rigidly followed : “As a matter of ordinary administrative practice, an official who does not have a reputation for honesty should not be placed in « position in which there is considerable scope for discretion.” Again : “Tt is always implicit in the unwritten code of conduct for those who hold responsible positions, whether political or official, that the public should always have absolute confidence in their disinterestedness and impartiality. in their social relations and all their dealings, they must, therefore, be especially careful to see that there is no ground or occasion to suggest ~ some individuals have greater access to or influence with them than others.” 27. We feel that, if a correct approach is made to the problem of corruption by the parties we have mentioned above and if the integrity and honesty of those in high position is clear, it will go a long way to improve the existing situation,if CHAPTER III BOOKING OF GOODS AND PARCELS TRAFFIC 28. The main function of the Railways is to sell transport. This consists largely of goods, parcels and passengers. Goods traffic is the more important. The smooth and economic working of trade and industry of a country depends upon the efficiency and speed with which goods are moved. If there are bottlenecks in trans- port, whether due: to shortage of wagons or indifference or inefficiency ™ movement or corruption, industry and commerce suffer. A good deal of necessary yeapital which could be used for increasing production is Tocked up and there is also an increase in the overhead charges. - The result is that the consumer has to pay higher prices for goods than he would otherwise pay. “The comparative importance of goods trafic (inchading parcels) to. the Raita fom the gars given Del ofthat earings andthe eas rom goods and’ parcels trafic on the Indien Railways for the ese S eel 1s vee mes ee (te thousands of Rupem) &) ) ® -« ‘Total cams Earnings fc of ery woke parc, BP 1951-52 TT) 29,18,470 16,66,202 37-09 1952653 - ee 27,00,883 15,63,679 57-90 1953-546 wee DMI 5B 57749 8-2 These figures ehe show that approximately 57 to 58 per cent. of the Railway earnings come from goods and parcels traffic. 30. ‘The procedure for the despatch and receiving of goods in a huge organisation Tike the Railways is a complicated ones’ It is further complicated due to restrictions and quota limitations imposed to suit the handling capacity of the Railways and govern- mental regulations. An average businessman is neither conversant with the complexity procedure nor the latest Position about restrictions and quota limitations, He is largely at the mercy of officials for the movement of his goods. His ignorance is fully exploited by corrupt officials. 31. Normally, the price | of a commodity or service is regulated by the law of supply and |. But Railways being a monopoly concern, transport price does not fluctuate. iti is fixed by the Administration. In actual practice, however, if for whatever reason the supply is less, the “unofficial price” goes up. The difference between this and the schedule rate is pocketed by unscrupulous officials. Shortage of transport, however created, is therefore one of the main reasons that en corrupt practices. The inadequacy of rail transport is due to a number of com; factors, the more important being :— (Insufficient number of wagons, (i) Inadequate line capacity over certain sections, (c. g. Berwade—~Madras (it) Bottlenecks in yards,12 (io) Inadequate transhipment capacity at various break of gauge points, (v) Inadequate number of locomotives, (vi) Failure of the Railways to make the best possible use of what is avail- able, viz., wagons, locomotives, line capacity, yard capacity, tranship- ment capacity etc, and inadequacy of staff, and (vit) Shortages artificially created to exact illegal gratification. In regard to items (io (0), itis well known that the capacity ofthe Railways in various directions was tazed to the maximom during the last war and replacements were totally inadequate. The result was that at the end of the war the Railways were left ina deplorable condition. We are, however, glad to note that this aspect of the pro- blem is engaging the serious attention of the authorities and efforts made to build up the assets by ordering additional wagons, locomotives, etc. and by increasing the sectional, yard and transhipment capacity, We wish that the process of building up glance quicker othe bs of th Sages gen inte pm ress of the Five Year Plan on Indian Railways”, 1e overaged si stil expected to remain in service at the end of the First Five Year Plan will be, 1,985 locomotives, 4130 coaching vehicles (units) and 14,078 wagons (units) 32. Closely related with this is the efficiency in fully utilising available assets. It is obvious that no industry can afford to spend money indiscriminately to buy additional rolling stock and increase the section, i and transhipment capacity with a view to covering up the inefficient working of the system. ‘This would only add to the overall charges. The Indian Railway Enquiry Committee,1947, made an exhaustivereview of the working of the Railway administration and-a perusal of its report will show that there is great scope for improvement. A rough and ready index of efficiency in goods trafhic is the wagon turn-round figure. The figures of this both on the broad gauge and metre wuge are given separately month by month in'the Appendices VII and VIII. These figures would make it clear tha, though a slight improvement has been effected in. the last few years compared to the immeciate post—war period, there is yet considerable scope for further improvement, Cases of hold-up of goods traffic in important ‘on sections and at transhipment points are quite frequent, as can be gauged from the frequent restrictions that have to be imposed from time to time. The very fact that the goods traffic has to be regulated by the fixation of quotas indicates that the Railways are not in a position to move the gcods freely as and when offer. d, A ste: dy drive at avery high level will have to be maintained to improve the position further. If the wagons are made available to the trading community according to demand by efficient operation, one great factor leading to corruption will be eliminated, 33, However, there is another kind of shortage that is artificially created to facilitate the demand for illegal gratification, by declaring available wagons falsely as sick’ or as booked for other station, A. Mopes or Corrurtion. ors adored ly the staff to get illegal gratification may be grouped (@ Collection of mamul, a small payment more or less universally expected (through dalals at big stations) at the time of booking and delivery of goods and parcels, This is paid by the consignors or the consginees to secure the co-operation of the st staff in transacting business, which can be made dilatory and difficult if such co-operation ie withheld.13 (ii) The station staff take advantage 0 of the ignorance of the parties concerned by misrepresenting the rules in force or giving false information about restrictic nd quotas limitations, etc., and then pretend to confer favours without violating the rules. (iii) Extortionate practices adopted by the staff, such as declaring a wagon ee Malaely ‘sick’, mivdireeting, making wrong placements ete (iv) The he public tempting the station staff to falsify records to save them- a the payment of Railway dues and thereby gaining substantial vantage. 35, The detailed modes of corruption in goods and parcels traffic may be die cussed under the following heads -— (1) Booking of goods, 2) Loading and unloading of consignments. @) Delays in transit. (4) Overweighment and underweighment, ©) Demurrage and wharfage, (6) Delivery of goods consignments. @) Parcels traffic. receive Seat cat inthe Cols Hee “eae fae But on ee allowed to be brought into ew alee the closing of the gates and _on other than the eppointed working days of the week on payment of illegal gratification. tendered in bunches, to consignors (ii) The forwarding notes at booking stations are normal! ‘While registering them in the Priority Register, preference ii ‘on payment of bribe. (ii) The train examining staff declave the stack unfit for loading to avoid forfeiture a segistration fee by the consignor for failing to bring his goods in time, particularly (iv) Railway receipts are issued to the merchants in advance, to allow the trader having small capital to draw money from the bank on the strength of the Railway Receipts or through the sale of Railway Receipts and thus enable him to purchase and despatch goods against the Railway Receipt. (0) | Ante-dated Railway Receipts are issued to merchants, to circurnvent restric ons on booking or to prove to their customers that the contract to supply goods within the stipulated time had been fulfilled. (cf) Merchants are permitted to book consignments on misdeclaration to obtein ry rate, already booked are changed so that f yualit ace dare eoe feat cena based or changed to that goods of hiher quality eonsignments of hides, skins, ete. certain emaller du; Pr Register maintained, dope dibs Roce scs ele hee ee14 (iz) _As traffic via certain routes is governed by quota limitations the number of wagons that can be registered per consignor is limited. Merchants are permitted to register more than the prescribed number of wagons under false and fictitious names to circumvent quota limitations. On receipt of allotments, they are sold at a price. This is done with the connivance of the Chief Goods Clerk or the Station Master who can easily verify whether the registrations are genuine or otherwise. (z) Goods over short distances are sent by the booking staff in connivance with the Guards and the staff at the receiving ends without issue of invoices. (xi) Packages of small size are sometimes despatched to the nearest repacking point instead of to the farthest point and vice versa against the rules to suit the convenience of consignors or their rivals. (xii) Wagons loaded with * smalls ° are sometimes booked to a particular station even though the minimum weight condition required for the despatch of the wagon is not fulfilled. (xiii) When there is scarcity of wagons or when the booking of full wagon load traffic is restricted, such traffic is split ‘up into ‘smalls’ by the same merchant in connivance with the staff, and offered as * smalls * under different fictitious names. (xiv) Where a limited quota has been-fixed for smalls booking in the form of CR-TR vans, excess vans are loaded without the same being shown in the wagon transit register or the loading register. (This. irregularity cannot be easily checked through the mere inspection of books.) (xv) The staff refuse to accept the forwarding notes from the merchants on the plea that booking is restricted and accept forwarding notes from those merchants who pay illegal gratification. (xvi) Fictitious entries are made in the priority register by the staff with the object of selling priority at a premium, especially when there is heavy traffic demand. (xvii) Wagons are supplied and booking is allowed without allotment orders, thereby circumventing administrative instructions. (xviii) Allotment orders are suppressed with the object of allotting wagons to favoured trac ic) Merchants are often haraased by the staff quoting a higher class of rate than caramel Petifenton bet rl (xx) Issue of Railway Receipts is delayed on some pretext or the other with corrupt motives. (zxi)_ Incorrect information is given to the consignors in regard to restrictions, ta limitations etc., with a view to giving an impression that they are shown special wvour to be paid for. 37, Loading and unloading of consignments.—(i) th allotment orders are received from the Divisional Office, the actual supply of stock is made by the yard staff. They sometimes favour a merchant by supplying the particular type cof stock, such as supply of CA type of wagon for loading livestock and perishables and ‘wagons of greater or smaller floor ares according ta consignor’s convenience. Tyajp5s ‘examining staff can also, and often do, get some gratification from the merchants os they are in a position to thwart the: efforts of the transportation staff to supply a particular wagon by declaring it as ‘sick’. (i) Preference is shown in the supply of stock by placing wagons near the point ‘most convenient to the consignors, part Del At times, loading of wagons in excess of their carrying capacity is allowed, ly of cattle and other livestock and minerals to save freight . (ia)_ Deliberate! — wagons are supplied for loading with a view te ing the merchants a ilegel gratification, For instance, wagons smelling of kerosene a or spoiled by coal tar etc., are supplied for loading foodgrains etc. (o) In big goods shed#, packages are sometimes loaded short in wagons but a tig nt mee elt aon oe et ae he tate he packages not loaded are surreptitiously misappropriated in collusion with the merchants, giving rise to claims, (vi) In regard to the unloading of consignments, favour is shown to the merchants by placing the wagon at an advantageous point. (oti) Placement of wagons in position for unloading is sometimes delayed to suit the convenience of the consignee, thus avoiding demurrage. 38. Delays in transit.—{i) Loaded wagons are sometimes detained in the phen various pretexts such as want of room in a train or want of proper ilities in order to harass the consignors unless they pay illegal grat of Livestock and perishable goods wagons are detained at the intermediate alling yards or transhipment points with a view to extracting illegal Erztfcation. Asin these cases delays would prove disastrous, the parties readily pay wl Obtaining free supply of milk from the cattle attendants by the yard and transhipment is quite common, (iit) The wagons containing perishables and livestock are intentionally damaged enroute by the train examining staff and again made fit on receipt of gratification from the merchants. (iv) In the case of perishables or commodities requiring quick transit, the merchants, when they Pt the market market falling ‘at destination, induce the railway staff at the forwarding stations or intermediat Is to detain the wagons containing s to facilitate obtaining afterwards su from ie Railways on the score of bps ee of goods due to delay in transit. In such cases, collusion at times takes the merchants and the train examining staff who deliberately mark the ae wagons * sick’, delaying t Rak tae} transit of goods, and enabling the merchant to put his claim. “When When paicaton i is, refused, Ea containing perishables ‘are deliberately delayed and: The » in such cases has to pay heavy compensation,39, Underweighment.—{i) Goods are often booked unde reigeed ing a dl eee pay less freight than due. This is quite common as will be noticed from the fact that, during very brief random visits of the Committee to some important goods sheds when test weighments were made, actual weights were found to be more than the invoice weights. (In eases of weighment of goods on the wagon weighbridge aloo, tho maai- won of we waht done reeording lesser weight, enabling the merchant to pey t charge (ii) Similarly t the weights of commodities are sometimes inflated at the time of booking to enable the merchants to prefer claims on the ground of pilferage. (iv) _ In some cases, the sender's inflated weight is accepted without weighment thus conferring an undue advantage on the consignor to secure a heavy claim from the Railway. This applies specially est to the booking of valuable goods like artificial silk, etc. 40. Demurrage and wharfage.—(a) Demurrage.—As the aumber of yragons available is in order to make the best use of the stock available, a time jas been fixed within which the wagons are required to be loaded or unloaded, init being sx hour of Salightn eben ease I tore na deli so loning unloading the merchant is required to pay demurrage usually at the rate of one anna er ton or part of a ton for every hour or part of ary hour based on the carrying capacity of the wagon. Often merchants are not in & position to complete loading or unloading within the prescribed time. On such occasions, unscrupulous Railway staff mani- pulate the timings of placement to fayour merchants. This is done in the following ways — ®_ The train examining staff declare the stock unfit for loading when the consig- nor is unable to bring his goods in time, thereby avoiding confiscation of the registration fee and realisation of demurrage. (ii) Even when the merchant takes longer time, the time shown in the official ia six hours. This saves the merchants demurrage charges. (iii) At destinations, he plceatil ‘of wagons in position for unloading is delayed ta suit the convenience of the consignee. (jv) After the placement of wagon in position for unloading, if there is delay in unloading beyond the free prescribed time, the time of unloading shown in the officiel record is suitably manipulated to avoid realisation of demurrage charges. (v) Sometimes, the wagons are deliberately rendered “ unconnected“ by removal of side labels or by suppressing the transhipment particulars, thereby facilitating tion-payment of demurrage. (vi) Wrong placement of the wagons is sometimes intentionally done, at an un- loading point not nominated for a particular kind of traffic, in collusion with the yard staff, thereby saving demurrage for the consignee who is not in a position to unload. his goods At times, in big goods sheds, unloadins is allowed in yard lines, which is not taken into account for the purpose of delivery, thereby giving time to the consignees to unload their wagons without payment of demurrage. (vii) In some cases, merchants are regularly allowed to do the operations beyond the scheduled hours, even in darkness, but the timings of operation are recot within the scheduled daylight hours. (viti) Sometimes, wagons for delivery are marked ‘ sick‘, thereby siving undue telief from demurrage to the consignee.17 is) In the case of loading of wagons alo, Railway operations like weighment Gales eiplsiarae catalan tees ad aks carers accaunt of loading by the consignor, (0) Wharfage—{i) Sometimes, goods, particularly of loose and bulky type, such as minerals, pipes, bricks, etc., are brought to the shed in anticipation of allotment of ns, without obtaining the relevant forwarding notes. No wharfage is due for stacking such goods, but it is not charged by the Railway staff at the time of actual booking of consignments. (H)_ After deliveries are effected, goods are sometimes not removed within the free time allowed. When subsequently removed, they are recorded as removed within the time allowed, thereby saving the merchant wharfage charges. (iit) At large stations, it ii ible for goods clerks to give non-arrival dates on the Railway Recelpt enebling the consignee te uae the Ralway premacs as godowns, (i) Sometimes ignments are rendered unconnected by removal of marke, giving scope to the favoured merchants to avoid payment of wharfage charges. (2) Again, the gate passes, the authority for removal of goods, are ante-dated, recording removal within free time, when-actually removal is done after the expiry of the same, 41, Delivery of goods consignments.—{') Goods shed staff deliberately withhold deli rot consignments on the ground that the consignments do not tally with the, part rs in the Railway receipt, thus harassing merchants to pay illegal gratification, (ii), Sometimes, delivery is allowed without observing proper procedure. Goods are booked to fictitious consi and the ataff allow the delivery to the real parties though fully aware of the fraudulent nature of the transaction. Such fictitious booking is done to avoid payment of sales tax, Sometimes even the consignee is wrongly shown as a Government Department to secure allotment of wagons and at the destina- tion, in collusion with the staff, the merchant is allowed to take delivery of the goods, using a false rubber stamp of the Gevernment Department indicated, (ii) In the cate of consignments booked to self, delivery can be given only on production of Railway receipts duly endorsed in favour of the person tebing deliver} an a stamped indemnity bond executed at the forwarding station certihed by the cone signor. But, in some casea, when the consignee does not have enough money to release the Railway Receipt from the bankers, he obtains delivery of the consignments on the basis of an indemnity bond executed at the destination station, unendorsed by the consignor, thereby enabling the merchants concerned to take delivery of goods und release the Railway Receipt at a later date. (io) A large number of irregularities are committed by the Railway staff in collation with the contigncea whe granting delwories to: erdble the cowigres: te lodge inflated or ftitioun claims aguiat the Reswoy. 42, Parcals tratfic.—Corrupt practices in the handling of parcels trafic are ror or les ofthe ame ate ninth eae of goods trafic "Pie fellowing metheds are also adopted in the booking and delivery of parcels <2 (Parcel of bully nature which are to be booked on measurement are some- times accepted. on weight basis, . CER—3,