Nagpur: Central Railway’s Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO) Shivraj Manaspure has been transferred before the end of his tenure, usually lasting two years. He had provided information to an RTI query about the actual cost of 3D selfie booths and 3D selfie points of Prime Minister Narendra Modi installed at railway stations. The Indian Railways had installed PM’s selfie booths at many stations, according to a media report.
According to the report, Ajay Bose, social activist from Badnera in Amravati district, filed an RTI application with five zones — Central Railway, Western Railway, Southern Railway, Northern Railway, and North West Railway — seeking information about the amount spent on erecting such PM selfie points.
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Information received from Central Railway said temporary selfie booths were installed at 30 stations and permanent ones at 20 stations across five divisions — Nagpur, Mumbai, Pune, Bhusawal, and Solapur. The cost of each temporary booth at Category A station was Rs1.25 lakh and at Category C stations, where permanent booths were set up, the cost was Rs 6.25 lakh (excluding taxes). The cost was approved by the Central Bureau of Communication.
Manaspure, an IRTS officer of 2011 batch, took charge as CPRO, responsible for liaisoning with the media on railway issues, in May. He was shifted by the CR’s Mumbai headquarters on December 29, without specifying any reason. He has been replaced by Swapnil D Nila. Manaspure has not been informed about his new posting, the media report claimed.
Before Manaspure’s transfer order, the Railway Board had issued an advisory on December 28 asking all GMs and DRMs to tread with caution while dealing with information sought under RTI Act. The Railway Board advisory also mentioned the deterioration in quality while dealing with RTI applications being handled by the zonal railways and other field units.
In December, Bose had received separate replies from the railway divisions about the number of 3D booths. Barring Central Railway, none of the divisions answered the query on the cost incurred on erecting the temporary and permanent booths. Many divisions did not reply to the queries and hence the information received was about 187 booths, of which over 100 were in the Northern Railway’s Hindi belt.
According to Bose, “The information from Central Railway was supplied by Deputy General Manager (PIO-HQ) Abhay Mishra, but the CPRO has been shunted out.”
Nila denied that Manaspure’s transfer was linked to the RTI reply. Senior railway officials refused to comment terming it as ‘a top-level decision’.
According to the report, Manaspure was awarded for special efforts made to increase earnings, tackle ticketless travel and thefts during his stint as senior divisional commercial manager at Bhusawal division. The award was presented by Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on December 15, 2023, at the 68th Railway Week Central Function in Delhi. Manaspure was honoured as the best performing railway personnel for promoting best practices among employees.
