GS4 · UPSC Mains
Rajendra has been appointed as the General Manager of South Eastern Zone of the Indian Railways. After taking charge of his new posting, one of the first major shortcomings that Rajendra found in his jurisdiction was the gross shortage of staff, especially at operational level. Given the sensitive nature and importance of railways, Rajendra immediately apprised his seniors in the ministry about this issue. In his report, Rajendra pointed out that shortages at various positions are leading to an over-stretched workforce, which may become detrimental for the security of the freight and the passengers. However, Rajendra's report fell on deaf ears and no action was taken by Railways in this regard. As fate would have it, a devastating train accident took place at Salasore, which fell under Rajendra's jurisdiction. Around 300 lives were lost and more than 1000 passengers were injured. The accident sent shock waves across the country and serious questions were being raised on railway safety. Given the seriousness of the incident, immediately an internal fact-finding committee was constituted under Rajendra. The internal committee completed its enquiry and prima facie found "human error in signaling" as the cause of the accident. The accident, as per the committee, happened when two trains which erroneously, due to faulty signaling, were on the same track; the collision between the two trains derailed some bogies; the derailed bogies collided with yet another train that was running on the parallel track. The fact-finding team also highlighted that Anand, who was in charge of signaling, was working continuously for more than 16 hours, instead of his regular 8 hours shift. The report concluded "lack of adequate staff" as one of the major reasons behind the accident. The very next day Rajendra was summoned by his superior in the ministry. Rajendra's superior congratulated him on the good and timely work on the report. However, he also asked him to modify the report by removing "lack of adequate staff" as one of the causes of the accident, as it showed Railways in a poor light. His superior further hinted that a lenient approach from Rajendra will bode well for his career. He also promised that Rajendra's cooperation in the matter will have a positive bearing on his request for a study leave. Moreover, the superior also reasoned with Rajendra that a rigid attitude may not bode well for him and he might get ostracized within the rank and file. Further, to make things 'easy' for Rajendra, his superior advised him to report Anand's negligence as the cause of the accident. However, Rajendra is aware that Anand is a very sincere and hard-working employee. He came out of the Chairman's office, dejected and undecided on his next course of action. a) What are the ethical concerns associated with the case study? b) What are the options available with Rajendra? c) If you were at the place of Rajendra, which option would you choose and why?
GS4 · Case studies on the above issues GS4 · Public/civil service values & ethics in public administration — status & problems; ethical concerns & dilemmas; conflict of interest
| Topper | Rank | Source | Copy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shubham Behere | AIR 226 · 2025 | Forumias | p.41 |
| Shubhanshi Singh | — | Forumias | p.41 |