About hundred Western Railway (WR) officers, including those from the reserved SC/ST classes, are an unhappy lot because the railway division has not held promotion interviews for them at all this year. The Western Railway Promotee Officers Association (WRPO) has approached the division's Chief Personnel Officer (CPO) to no avail.
Apart from leaving them demotivated, the delay in interviews and subsequent promotions has deprived the officers of monetary and other perks. According to a 1996 Indian Railways provision, promotee officers, i.e. officers eligible for being considered for promotion, have to be interviewed twice in a year, on January 1 and on July 1, to be considered for merit-based promotion. But this year, WR has not conducted interviews on either of the two dates for a majority of its officers. Of the officers of eight departments — personnel, stores, traffic, civil engineering, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, signal and telecom engineering — officers from only three departments have been interviewed.
"Every officer looks forward to the periodical promotions as it increases their salary and other perks," said one of the affected railway officers on condition of anonymity. "When our fundamental right is ignored for unknown reasons, how does the railway administration expect us to perform in the right spirit? We are not only stressed but disturbed too, and this clearly reflects in the performance." Western Railways chief public relations officer, Sharat Chandrayan, did not say why the interviews have not been conducted. "This is an internal matter of WR. If any officer has a grievance, he should approach the concerned authority, not the media."
The promotion interviews particularly affect junior candidates from the reserved SC/ST categories, who become eligible for promotion after three years of service. The Indian Railway Promotee Officers' Federation (IRPOF), of which the WRPOA is a constituent, is contemplating making a representation to the Minister of Railways and lodge a formal complaint with the National Commission of SC/ST about the CPO's biased attitude. "The president and general secretary of WRPOA has already apprised the Western Railway's General Manager of the problem. The GM was very positive but the CPO is adamant," said Jitendra Singh, advisor to IRPOF.
Case for atrocity against SC?
Raj Kumar Verka, vice chairman of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes said, "As per the Indian Constitution, periodical departmental promotion is a fundamental right of each and every SC candidate. If any officer is depriving SC candidates of their fundamental rights, it can be considered as a fit case for 'atrocities'. The Commission will take suo moto cognizance if any officer or department is found to be indulging in such activities."
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