It is wise to act in time...!!!!

The horrific stampede that took place in Elphinstone Road railway station has shocked the hardy residents of Mumbai. Majority of the victims had undertaken fasts and the ladies were adorned in matching colour sarees and with ornaments, due to the Navratri festive season. Everyone had ventured from their homes, hoping to come back home safely, but unfortunately met with untimely deaths. The Railway Administration had no words to console and pacify the relatives of the victims. Fortunately or unfortunately, the Hon’ble Union Railway Minister was in town and visited the KEM Hospital to console those who have been injured in the stampede. Thereafter he has taken a major safety meeting in Delhi and took stock of his Ministry and sent the Chairman of the Railway Board to Mumbai immediately.

           On 01.10.2017, when the Chairman of the Railway Board landed in Mumbai, a battery of officials, of both the Western and Centre Railway were present to receive him. On seeing all the senior officers doing protocol, he lost his temper and chastened them and noted down the names of all those officers, unnecessarily present at the Airport, for initiating disciplinary action. Thereafter he held a series of meetings and took many historical steps which is unprecedented. He directed the senior officers to travel in the trains, that too in sleeper class and take long journeys, to gain first hand experience of the services and problems faced by the passengers. The move aims at improving on the amenities being provided to the passengers by the Railways. The General Manager and DRM will undertake journey in Sleeper class and 3^rd A.C coaches to take stock of the condition of the coaches and its cleanliness. Utmost priority is to be accorded to passenger safety and the amenities in trains and at stations and urged the Officers to move out of their luxurious cabins & offices, to avoid unnecessary protocol duties and improve on their work ethics. Being a Mumbaite, we welcome the move by the Chairman of Railway Board as well as the Hon’ble Union Minister of Railways.

Coming to our Department, do our Authorities learn any lesson from others mistakes to improve our system, vis-a-vis the steps initiated by the Chairman of the Railway Board – of moving out of their posh cabins/saloons, of working at the ground level to know the difficulties faced by the officers and the tax payers, of working like a team, of being visible in the field than only at North Block. Respect and honour are given to senior officers due to their timely presence in the field and by their courageous actions, not by the post they merely occupy.

In the new tax regime i.e. GST, the senior officials are at the receiving end and those who are in the pivotal positions are helpless to redress the enormous problems faced by the taxpayers. We are truthful when we accept that “We were ready but our system may not have been ready...” but in the perception of the public, it appears deceitful. The problem faced by the Central Processing Cell, issues reported by the tax payers which even the GSTN helpdesk  are unable to resolve. Constant extension of deadlines and numerous errors occurring while filing the TRAN and Regular returns coupled with non-availability of the facility of revision of returns has added to the taxpayers problems. Whereas, in the VAT department they are ahead little bit than us wherein the registrations are being issued at local offices and no special CPC has been formed. Further, test checking of invoices has also been taken up by state authorities. We do not know how long our management will stretch the event to make it robust and assessee friendly. If my seniors, without waiting for any directions from the top are available in the field,  suo moto, like the Railways, then the time will not be far off, when issues faced by the officers and assessees of GST, are quickly redressed.

The amenities provided to the GST Officers are abysmal, (least say about the infrastructure)  but the expectations are sky high - that they will deliver as they did during the times when SRP and physical controls were in existence. Now when everything is automated and the system is handicapped, the staff has no power to generate or upload anything, except merely watching, like a night-watchman, waiting for redressal of their issues. It pinches when authorities preach that the system is brought to curtail human interface and curb Inspector Raj. When there is no Raj, but our own seniors publicly condemn its own officials, just to appease the trade. The trade wants that their difficulties are to be addressed – like not to be penalised for the systems failure which is no fault of theirs.

 CESA Mumbai hopes that our senior officers will be aware of the real and reality at the ground level - that the moral of the officers at the field level is too low. There is no one to guide them, to lead them or to redress their grievances, so that they can serve this Department with dignity and with utmost sincerity. If the senior officials of the Railway can forego their luxurious cabins and stand-up to improve / provide for safety amenities, cleanliness, etc., then why not the Members of our Board and other senior officers, to serve along with the foot-soldiers, on the economic front.