Reforming Inefficiency In The Bureaucracy: Railways To Let Go Of 13,000 Absentee Employees

Continuing in its pursuit of reducing inefficiency in the bureaucracy, that Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government has embarked on one more large-scale mission to purge the bureaucracy of its babudom.

The Piyush Goyal-led Ministry of Railways yesterday (9 February) announced that the ministry had launched a drive to identify employees who were absent without leave (AWOL) for a long time. The errant officers, numbering about 13,000 of the total workforce of 13 lakh will face disciplinary action that includes termination of their employment.

According to a press note by the Press Information Bureau, the ministry has asked supervisors to ‘weed out’ these employees from the employee roles but after following due process.

A report in the Hindustan Times says that the Railways’ is looking to let go of absentee employees to boost the morale of diligent and hardworking employees and further strengthen the organisational health of India’s public sector rail provider. The Indian Railways is among the world’s largest employers, employing close to 1.4 million employees.