State of railways

Like most public-sector organisations, the Pakistan Railways too is running into losses. Yesterday, during the hearing of a petition, Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Gulzar Ahmed severely castigated the Railways Secretary for the unsatisfactory performance of his department. Replying to a question from the Chief Justice of Pakistan about the number of railway employees, the secretary informed that 76,000 people worked for the organisation, upon which the top judge expressed surprise that with such a huge manpower the department’s performance was disappointing.

The Chief Justice observed that the railways seems to have employees far in excess of its requirements, and that most of the railway systems and factories were lying idle, so 10,000 employees would be sufficient for efficient functioning of the department. The honourable judge implied to say that overstaffing is one of the causes contributing to the railways’ swelling losses. He asked the secretary to go out in the field and see things for himself and simply not do only paperwork inside his office. The top judge also took railway officials to task for the increasing number of accidents. During the hearing it was revealed that there was no computerised record of railway employees. This is surprising and shows the state of neglect prevailing in the Pakistan Railways.

A day earlier during the hearing of a petition seeking regularisation of railway employees, the counsel for the petitioner told the Supreme Court that employees seeking permanent status had been working as temporary employees for the department for more than 20 years. He said such employees were more like daily-wage workers working against permanent posts, and vacancies or these posts were never advertised. The Chief Justice expressed astonishment that there was no clue as to what projects workers were hired for and who appointed them. Justice Ijazul Ahsan, another judge on the bench, expressed displeasure that inexperienced hands were being hired for jobs that need expertise.

The government has lately been taking steps to put the railways back on the rails. As part of the strategy, Prime Minister Imran Khan has instructed the Pakistan Railways to expedite the process of handing over the management of 15 trains to the private sector.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 13^th, 2020.

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