After CR, now WR halts errant suppliers in their tracks

After CR, now WR halts errant suppliers in their tracks
Kalpana Verma

January 28: When the railways smell a rat, the stench it seems travels faster than even the Karnavati Express. With news fast switching tracks from the Central Railway (CR), the Western Railway (WR) is now considering a proposal to delist two firms supplying sub-standard ferrous compounds to one of its workshops in Gujarat. The proposal, which was forwarded by the Dahod workshop in January, was made after 63 tonnes of ferro phosphorous and ferro silicon costing Rs 13 lakh for the manufacture of vital safety equipment were found to be of inferior quality.

The firms -- the Mumbai-based Nitin Industries and its subsidiary South Asia Importers -- had supplied the material to Dahod on January 11, 2001 and December 27, 2000 respectively, six months after the fraud was detected at the Central Railway's Parel Workshop in Mumbai. The CR finally struck two suppliers off its list on January 5 -- Sterling Refractories and New India Trading -- raising eyebrows with its decision to desist from delisting Nitin Industries. An investigation against South Asia Importers is still underway.

The Dahod Workshop sent its own proposal for delisting the two firms to the railway's headquarters in Mumbai last week, ironically a week after the CR delisted its two suppliers. This follows an inspection by the deputy controller of stores in December and January, when the 63 tonnes of the material was detected as being of inferior quality.

Says a senior WR official: ``The ferro phosphorous consignment's purchase order was placed on May 3 last year and for ferro silicon on May 23 by the controller of stores at Churchgate. Before delivery, Rail India Technical and Engineering services (RITES) inspected one consignment on September 8 and November 6. However, when the officials at Dahod learnt of the goings-on at the Central Railway, they did not want to take any chances and tested the material at the Dahod Workshop's laboratory in December and January. The proposal to delist the two firms was sent to us last week.''

Vinod Asthana, chief public relations officer, WR, told Newsline: ``Yes, we have received a proposal from Dahod asking us to delist the two companies and the matter is under investigation. It will take three weeks to complete the inquiry and then we shall decide on a course of action.''

The firms were plying both railways with sub-standard ferrous compounds, ostensibly for the manufacture of vital safety equipment like brake blocks, allegedly in collusion with senior railway officials. Multi-crore contracts were awarded some years ago in return for handsome kickbacks to senior railway officials. The CR's Vigilance Department is still in the process of investigating the fraud and is contemplating action against various officers for their complicity in the gings-on.