The Hindu 01.10.2013
Town Planning post may no longer be most sought after
Officials will now be roped in to monitor solid waste management in the city
The Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike’s (BBMP) Town Planning Department seems to be the favourite destination for officials on deputation, given the number of officials who come with “recommendation letters”.
Monitoring waste
To put an end to this, BBMP Commissioner M. Lakshminarayan said Town Planning officials would now be roped in to monitor solid waste management in the city. The officials on deputation would now be assigned to at least one ward where they would have to monitor garbage clearance from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m., before reporting to work at the Town Planning Department.
The officials would also have to report to zonal chief engineers every day.
Issue discussed
This issue was discussed at the BBMP council meeting on Monday. Ruling party leader N. Nagaraj, opposition leader B.N. Manjunath Reddy, Dr. Rajkumar ward councillor Gangabyraiah, Jayamahal councillor M.K. Gunashekar, Kacharakanahalli councillor Padmanabh Reddy and Nagapura councillor S. Harish noted that the BBMP should decide where to place the officials who come on deputation. “There are few who come with ‘recommendation letters’ from Vidhana Soudha and demand a certain post in a particular department. This is not a right precedent,” they said.
Mr. Nagaraj demanded that officials on deputation be repatriated to their parent departments, while Mr. Gangabyraiah charged that the BBMP does not have any control over these officials.
Under pressure
Mr. Lakshminarayan admitted that he had been facing pressure to appoint certain officials on deputation in the Town Planning Department for the past four months. The BBMP cannot have more officials in the department exceeding the number of sanctioned posts. The Mayor had directed that officials from the Public Works Department would not be accommodated in Town Planning.
Mayor B.S. Sathyanarayan directed the Standing Committee for Personnel and Administrative Reforms to submit the list of officials on deputation working in the BBMP, especially in the Town Planning Department, within a week.
