Soon CMD’s voice would be heard across SAIL loud and clear as actions speak louder than words

Whether Panda would tread the path of Amarendu and Soma and promote officers embroiled in the FAKE PROJECT & SWR14 Grade Blooms SCAM or chalk out an ethical path for himself?

Once again, it’s promotion time in SAIL! It has been gathered interviews for the promotions from GM (General Manager- E7 Grade) to CGM (Chief General Manager-E8 Grade) are underway for last few days. Employees of SAIL are playing bets on two officers viz. Mukesh Kumar and Prashant Ojha. These are the officers from the HR Department of SAIL; former is posted in the Delhi Corporate Office and latter at CMO Head Quarter of SAIL in Kolkata.

These were the two HR officers who were chosen by the then senior management of SAIL to work out and execute the nefarious plan of harassing and victimising the Whistle Blower Rajeev Bhatia and culminating the action plan in his premature retirement. Bhatia had become a thorn in their eyes from the moment he exposed the corruption of over Rs 450 Crore in SAIL, which presently stands at about Rs 800 Crores.

The Director (Personnel) K K Singh, who heads the HR Department is the Designated Authority for implementation of the Vigil Mechanism policy of SAIL. Instead of implementing the policy, these two HR officers, blatantly violated the above policy & Whistle Blower Protection Mechanism and now looking for promotions. Riding the hierarchy ladder is utmost important for them rather than the principles of ethics, morality, honesty and making the organisation corruption free.

Further, it is noteworthy that Mukesh is primarily an engineering graduate with a degree in Mechanical Engineering and recruited in SAIL for the same expertise. Subsequently he obtained MBA (HRM), BL.LLB, Law. It has been gathered that because of his close association with the Director (Personnel), he has been taken in the HR department to implement the policies as per the whims and fancies of the senior management as it has been seen in the case of the Whistle Blower Rajeev Bhatia.  It is also noteworthy that there are numerous SAIL officers who continuously work in the difficult environment of the steel plants and mines and bear the heat and dust of blast furnaces, steel melting shops etc., due to obvious reasons, Mukesh is considered for fast-track promotions although he majorly remained in the easy and cosy posting of the Corporate Office of SAIL.

As far as the bets are concerned, there are two schools of thought in SAIL. The first school says that if instead of casually and arbitrarily suspending Bhatia just for sending the corruption complaints to the then Chairman Soma Mondal and Director (Commercial) V S Chakravarty, had a reasonable, practical and sensible path was taken; it is quite possible that Bhatia had not sent those complaints to LOKPAL of India while he was under suspension for no justified reason. This school summarily blames the then senior management and the concerned advisors of the HR department for the entire fiasco which the SAIL is in presently with two FIRs already registered by CBI on the directions of LOKPAL of India. Considering the criticism, disgrace and disrepute SAIL is regularly earning in the market among the stake holders and public, this school feels that the new CMD Ashok Panda is different from his predecessors, both Soma and Amarendu. Under no circumstances would promote the two HR officials and send a wrong message to the employees.

If market sources are to be believed, then the tenure of the Panda’s predecessor Amarendu Prakash got curtained because of the complaints which are under LOKPAL’s investigation. Had Amarendu continued then his five-year contract with the government would have ended on May 31, 2028. Under such a scenario, Panda would have not got the chance of becoming CMD SAIL as he is turning 60 years of age in December 2029. The second school feels that instead of irrationally suspending the Whistle Blower, had the concerned HR officers taken a sensible and judicious path, the complaints may not have landed before the LOKPAL of India and possibly Amarendu would have been CMD SAIL even today. Though it would never be acknowledged publicly, but inside Panda must be highly grateful to those HR officials who worked out and executed the nefarious and wicked action plan of harassing and victimising the Whistle Blower Rajeev Bhatia which culminated in his premature retirement.

The promotion orders are likely to be issued in the next few days. Let us see which school wins the bet.

In addition, it would also be interesting to see whether Panda would tread the path of Amarendu and Soma and award promotions to officers who are embroiled in the FAKE PROJECT & SWR14 Grade Blooms SCAM or chalk out a ethical path for himself. Amarendu had promoted three officers namely Abhijeet Kumar, Chandresh Kumar and Sudarshan Kalra after bring them back from suspension, pending CBI/LOKPAL investigations. 

Readers must recall that on November 17, 2022 Whistle Blower Rajeev Bhatia sent three complaints pertaining to steel supplies to Venkatesh Infra Projects P Ltd; Avon Steel Industries P Ltd and Hi-Tech Pipes (Group) to then Chairman Soma Mondal and Director (Commercial) V S Chakravarty. It contained detailed analysis and data presented in about 70 pages. The complaints were buried and the Whistle Blower was suspended on November 24, 2022 for sending the complaints through a GMAIL id to Chairman and Director (Commercial). Thereafter charges were framed against Bhatia. The main charge levelled against him was that the allegations levelled in the complaints are insinuations and lack evidence. They are found to be imaginary, malicious, vexatious, and frivolous. It may be noted here that the above charges were framed and then proved also without any investigation in the complaints.

On December 01, 2022; January 1, 2023 & January 11, 2023, the same complaints were sent by Bhatia to the Prime Minister of India. The complaints of corruption and financial irregularities contained Soma’s name as one of the alleged officers. On all three occasions, via the Ministry of Steel, the complaints came to SAIL but again were buried under the carpet on all the three occasions.

Seeing that SAIL would not get the complaints investigated, finally, on February 11, 2023 Bhatia sent the same complaints to LOKPAL of India.

Based on the investigation report of CVO SAIL, recommendations of the Ministry of Steel and CVC and detailed submissions of the alleged officials through highly paid counsels (Rs 70 Lakh paid by SAIL CMD Amarendu Prakash), on January 10, 2024, LOKPAL of India ordered CBI investigations.

Following the LOKPAL’s judgement, 29 officials were suspended on January 19, 2024 and CBI registered two FIRs 

(The above article has been written based on Bureaugram’s extensive research and inputs from various sources including sources from SAIL)