Govt defends Elphinstone decision, cites examples when Army called in for civil works in the past

NEW DELHI: Facing flak over decision to rope in armed forces to construct three bridges, including one foot-over-bridge at

Elphinstone

station, railways defended the move arguing that globally Army does perform such roles for betterment of citizen services.

The transporter also said Army, BRO and GREF have “strong operational expertise” in building roads and bridges and developing infrastructure.

While railways cited several instances when Army was called in to carry out civil construction works during crisis situation, many railways engineers termed the move as “demoralising” which poses a big question mark on our competence.

Soon after the announcement by the Centre, the opposition criticised the Centre's decision to rope in the Army, terming the move as deplorable and an admission of the failure of the government and railways.

But, the decision to hand over the task to Army came as a big surprise for many in railways which is primarily a “department of engineers” who joined the transporter after getting higher engineering degrees from IITs and other premier institutions.

Terming the move as “demoralising” for railway engineers, a senior official said that the transporter has competence and facilities and is capable of handling any crisis situation.

Given ‘emergency powers’ such as single tender and a free hand in procurement, railways officials are best equipped to build the bridge in record time, said another official.

He also recalled an instance when Army called railway engineers to construct a ‘difficult’ bridge in Akhnoor in J&K during late 1990s.

Terming the move as a “knee-jerk” reaction by political leadership under popular pressure after Elphinstone tragedy in which 23 people died, an official said the Army brings “nothing extra” which the railways doesn’t have and the transporter has been handling restoration works for decades.

However, defending the decision, railways top brass cited instances of armed forces being pressed into service when the Mumbai-Goa highway bridge collapsed in Aug 2016 and also two years earlier during the J&K flash floods when the Army restored and repaired roads damaged in over 1,000 locations across the state.

He also recalled instances of Army stepping in to rebuild a bridge in record time during the 2010

Commonwealth Games

in Delhi after it had suddenly collapsed near the Nehru stadium.

He said in 2008, during a fire in Nandaram building in Kolkata army called in to control the blaze in the 13-storeyed structure.

Under operation Sadbhavana, Indian Army in J&K, has routinely been building infrastructure and yielding good results in improving quality of life of all citizens.