Engineers removed from supervision, contractor given free hand: Sources

Instead of disciplining the contractor for short supply and swindle, officials seem to have given absolute control of water management to the private contractor who supplies water to the terminal.

Till a while ago, Southern Railway (SR) engineers were overseeing arrival of tankers in the backyard of the station. However, the intervention of railway engineers was minimised and a private player was entrusted with supervising water pumping following allegations of supervisors and a few officials colluding with the contractor, the sources said.

Curiously, the private party which took over the supervision job, railway sources revealed to DT Next, was a benami of the water supply contractor. “The same party which short supplies water is now overseeing receipt of water. How will he ensure prompt supply when official supervision is minimised? They have made the job easy for the contractor,” argued a railway officer privy to the development.

A few months ago, an engineer at Egmore station was pulled up by a division-level officer for attempting to crackdown on the water supplier, a railway officer requesting anonymity disclosed, adding that the engineer was asked to move out of Egmore.

“An anonymous letter detailing the water theft was received by two-dozen officers in the divisional and zonal headquarters a few months ago. Almost all bosses are aware of the scam. But no action has been initiated. When members of an employee’s union questioned their inaction, officials asked them to give it in writing. They had even claimed not to have received any letter,” said a railway source. However, the railway vigilance took cognizance and initiated some action.