Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA) is facing severe staff crunch of its field officers. Almost 50 sanctioned positions for engineers are vacant, accounting for a shortage of 27%.
Earlier, City Spidey had reported that owing to staff crunch, GDA was finding difficulty to carry out its operations — especially rainwater harvesting campaigns couldn’t be initiated on time since most of its staff was engaged in demolition and sealing drives.
However, the GDA claims to have finished its rainwater harvesting agenda in areas with high-rise buildings. “Most of these housing groups are in Indirapuram, and we have managed to complete our inspection-cum-awareness drive,” said VK Singh, officer on special duty (OSD).
At the top, the positions of superintendent engineer in civil department and chief engineer in electrical department are vacant. Ghaziabad News
Out of eight sanctioned position of executive engineers in civil, four are vacant.
Out of 32 sanctioned positions of assistant engineers (AE) in civil, 17 are vacant. Similarly, of sanctioned six, four positions of AE in electrical department are vacant.
Commenting on the work load, AE Ajeet Kumar, in-charge of Zone 5, said, “The work load is quite high. I never get off before 8:30 pm. It has, kind of, become a habit for us. But during emergencies, like the recent episodes of building collapse, the demand of manpower multiplies, and we feel highly pressurised at times.”
Junior engineers (JE) in electrical department are at the centre of this crunch, as out of 21 sanctioned posts, only 3 have been filled, registering a shortage of 85%; things are better with Civil JEs, as of 115 sanctioned posts, 110 are filled.
Junior engineer GS Mall said, “Work load is so much that I have to do double my work. I work in both division and in the enforcement departments. Taking time out for my family has become a big task now. My housing quarter is merely 5 minutes distance from the office, but I never get time to go and have lunch at home.”
When asked whether GDA can outsource the remaining numbers in the ground staff, OSD Singh said outsourcing cannot happen in engineering. “Only computer operators, cleaning staff and manpower at horticulture can be outsourced, that too through putting out tenders,” he said.
