Nineteen officers, including three of central railway and one of western railways, were terminated on Wednesday after periodic review. In a recent review meeting, Railway minister, Ashwini Vaishnav, had expressed his displeasure for the slow pace of work of some of the prioritized projects.
The move is part of the Union government's efforts to weed out non-performers. The 19 people who have been retired on Wednesday include four officials each from the electrical and signaling services, three each from medical and civil, two from personnel and one each from stores, traffic and mechanical, the sources indicated.
"The Railways on Wednesday retired 19 of its officials who had adverse vigilance reports, effecting a rule under which a government employee can be forced to retire after being served a minimum of three month's notice or a similar period's pay," a senior railway officer told FPJ.
"These officers were terminated under section 56(J)/(I), Rule 48 of Central Civil Services(CCS) Pension Rules, 1972," he added.
Apart from that 77 senior officers in the railways opted for VRS (voluntary retirement scheme) till today since Ashwini Vaishnav joined as Railway minister. After taking charge as the Railway Minister in July, Ashwini Vaishnaw had told officials to “perform or perish”.
The minister always emphasizes that there is no place for people who don’t perform and resort to corruption.
Under the VRS scheme, an employee is paid a salary equivalent to two months' pay for every year of service left. This benefit is not available in compulsory retirement.
However, those who have a positive approach and are ready to perform are also getting recognised. A senior officer of CR agreed that the pressure to perform has increased and the ministry has set “tough” targets.
“Things have changed a lot in the recent past . Non-performing officers have come under fire. Some people have also taken VRS as they felt that they are not fit for the current situation," he added.
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