Bengaluru: Was there more to the removal of former Chief Minister, D. V. Sadananda Gowda as Union railway minister than first thought? Railway circles are abuzz with talk that the axe fell on Mr. Gowda following his decision to make audits a must for all transactions and to put breaks on two major PPP proposals involving well known multinational companies.
His wings were also clipped, it is said, because he refused to extend the term of a senior officer retiring in a few days.
According to sources in the railway ministry, one of the major decisions that Mr. Gowda took on assuming office was to make audits mandatory for all transactions.
“Until then a utilisation certification was just a formality. But Mr. Gowda made it compulsory.
He issued instructions to all officials to put breaks on unnecessary purchases and to make proper use of all equipment and imaterial.
Added to this he wanted mandatory audit of the expenses at all levels in the railways. This angered vested interests,” said an officer. Others in the ministry believe that a group of senior officials backed by a couple of well known multinational companies had pushed for a change of guard following Mr. Gowda’s decision not to allow the railway board to sign two PPP projects unless their terms and conditions were changed.
“Mr. Gowda wanted changes in the tender terms and conditions as they favoured the private parties. Both these proposals were made nearly a decade ago and his insistence didn’t go down well with one group, which ensured that he was shunted out,” said another officer.
“Few are happy with the exit of Mr Gowda from the railway ministry. We hope the new minister, Suresh Prabhu will not succumb to the various lobbies,” he added.
A senior officer of South Western Railway jumps to Mr. Gowda’s defence, saying its wrong to say that he did not meet the expectations of the Prime Minister.
“He had proposed several new initiatives. It is impossible to bring in changes overnight. Several projects are in the pipeline,” he claimed.
