Narendra Modi takes note of graft in Indian Railways, directs strictest action

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday took a serious view of the "large number of complaints" about "corrupt practices" of railway officials and directed strictest possible action against those found guilty.[caption id="attachment_3393470" align="alignleft" width="380"] Prime Minister Narendra Modi. AP[/caption] He asked the Indian Railways to work towards a unified single telephone number for all grievances and queries,including helpline in the case of an accident. Modi made the comments while reviewing the progress of vital infrastructure projects in the railway, road and power sectors, spread over several states. Chairing a meeting in New Delhi of Pro-Active Governance and Timely Implementation (PRAGATI), an ICT-based multi-modal platform, he reviewed the progress towards handling and resolution of grievances related to railways."Noting that a large number of complaints were related to corrupt practices of officials, he directed strictest possible action against Railway officials found guilty of corruption," said a PMO statement. The prime minister has been asserting that his government is determined to eliminate corruption. The projects reviewed on Wednesday are spread over Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Tripura and Nagaland.These included the Mumbai Metro, the Tirupati-Chennai Highway, long-pending road projects in Uttar Pradesh,Uttarakhand, and Manipur, and important power transmission lines in Jammu and Kashmir and the North East. Taking stock of the 'Mission Indradhanush' for universal immunisation of children, the prime minister asked fortargeted attention in strict timeframes for the 100 worst performing districts in this regard, the PMO said. He said the youth organisations such as National Cadet Corps and Nehru Yuva Kendra could be involved in the outreach effort to ensure that no child was left without the benefit of immunisation. Reviewing the implementation of Swachhta Action Plans, Modi said that events such as Swachhta fortnights should be converted into movements towards permanent solutions. On the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) Mission, the prime minister askedofficials to quantify and document the gains achieved through the use of latest technology, such as LED bulbs, so that the benefits could be better appreciated by one and all. The prime minister also urged all secretaries of the government of India, and all chief secretaries of states, tocome up with concrete plans and objectives for transformative change, to be achieved by the 75th anniversary of independence in 2022.With regard to cleanliness, he urged for maximum efforts ahead of Mahatma Gandhi’s 150th birth anniversary by 2019, the statement said.