CAG Report Unveils Severe Delays in Mancheswar Railway Workshop Overhauls

The CAG report criticizes the Mancheswar Carriage Repair Workshop for prolonged delays in coach overhauls, despite increased capacities. Irregularities include idle resources, defective machines, and an ineffective tracking system. These issues have led to a significant number of coaches failing shortly after overhaul.

The Mancheswar Carriage Repair Workshop of East Coast Railway has come under scrutiny following a Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report revealing significant delays in coach overhauls. The report points out that the facility, initially capable of overhauling 45 coaches monthly, expanded to 100 in 2003 and aimed for 150 by 2016. However, annual output consistently fell short, ranging between 86 and 113 completed coaches.

Allegations in the audit include severe irregularities, with periods of coach idleness extending from 10 to 171 days and up to 43 instances where coaches sat idle for longer than 50 days. The report also highlights inefficiencies in monitoring coach performance post-overhaul, with 131 coaches failing within 100 days of work between 2020 and 2023.

The CAG identified further issues like costly equipment remaining unused, stock shortages due to procurement lapses, and inadequate functionality of the Workshop Information System. Calls for capacity augmentations worth crores were made without a practical assessment of infrastructure needs, raising concerns about resource allocation and planning.

(With inputs from agencies.)