Only part time CRB

Railways won’t have full-time board chief from today

Mahendra Singh, TNN | Jul 1, 2013,

NEW DELHI: Reeling under financial stress and a bribery scandal, the railways will have to work without a fulltime chairman from Monday as the government has not yet finalized the name for the top post. The government has decided to give additional charge of chairman, railway board to member (mechanical) Arunendra Kumar.

Hit by the recent cash-forjobs scam which raised serious doubts over high-level appointments in railways, the government seems to be treading cautiously. Newly-appointed railway minister Mallikarjun Kharge had said that steps were being taken to fill vacant posts in the board and appointments would be made after getting clearance from the Central Vigilance Commission.

However, in the new arrangement, member (electrical) Kulbhushan, who has been named as an accused by the CBI in its preliminary enquiry, has been given additional charge of member (traffic), one of the most powerful posts after chairman. Additional member (budget) R Kashyap has been asked to look after the responsibility of finance commissioner as incumbent Vijaya Kanth completed her term on June 30. The post of member (staff)—held by Mahesh Kumar who is under suspension for his alleged role in the cash-for-jobs scam—will be held by member (engineering) Subodh Jain.