The news that the production of more train sets of the Vande Bharat Express has come to a halt is disappointing (Tamil Nadu page, “ICF told to scrap tenders for Train18 rakes,” July 11). The fact that the train set was delivered on schedule within 18 months and the inaugural run was flagged off by the Prime Minister after passing stringent performance trials is a unique achievement in the annals of India Railways. It will be extremely short-sighted and unfortunate if a witch-hunt is launched to establish malafide intentions in the tendering process. Any project of this complexity and magnitude executed on a ‘mission mode’ would have required cutting out red tape. It is likely that in the process certain boundaries of departmental silos were breached to speed up decision-making. The Sreedharan Committee has made wide-ranging recommendations for devolution of financial powers, many of which have been accepted. It will be unfortunate if at the first demonstration of these reforms, the reaction is to launch an inquiry. Nothing can be more de-motivating.
K. Balakesari,
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Chennai