The Hindu 13.02.2013
Workers on contract for quick response to civic issues
The Chennai Corporation officials will soon be permitted
to engage workers on contract to react faster to civic challenges. The
civic body this week will put in place a rate contract system to hire
conservancy workers, road
tholilalis
and malaria workers if there is a pressing need to address a civic problem.
The
zonal officials need not seek permission from the Commissioner for
hiring such employees after administrative sanction is given for the
rate contract. The rate for the labour contract will be fixed in such a
way that the workers get paid better. A senior official of the
Corporation said this would provide a solution to the issues of
absenteeism and vacancies.
For example, the zonal officials will have an option of hiring some road
tholilalis
in the morning so that the work can be completed on the same day if a
road gets damaged due to rains the previous night. Similarly, mosquito
control operations can be carried out in a locality by hiring workers on
contract, minutes after receiving complaints in the morning. Roads can
also be swept clean by conservancy workers on contract if a garbage
issue is highlighted in a newspaper in the morning.
However,
there is a ceiling on the number of labourers on contract in each of
the 200 wards of the Corporation. The official cannot hire more
labourers than the number permitted as per norms. The civic body has
collected data on the number of vacancies in posts such as conservancy
workers, road
tholilalis
and malaria workers. The requirement of such labourers for each of the
wards in the 426 sq km of the city will soon be analysed. Decision on
the number of workers permitted for each ward will be taken shortly.
