The Hindu : Front Page : MCD dismisses 18 engineers; "more heads may roll soon"

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Saturday, Apr 08, 2006

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Front Page

MCD dismisses 18 engineers; "more heads may roll soon"

Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI: In the first major action against senior engineers, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi has dismissed 18 executive engineers of its Building Department for "conniving and abetting large-scale unauthorised construction and rampant conversion of residential properties into commercial ones in their zones between 2001 and 2005".

The civic body has also initiated regular departmental action (RDA) for major penalty against 17 superintending engineers who had served in the 12 zones of MCD during 2001-05. "The penalty proceedings against these officers will be carried out in a time-bound manner."

The action comes in the wake of a recent Delhi High Court order directing MCD to take severe action against its officers who had overlooked unauthorised constructions in their zones.

In its earlier hearings on the case related to unauthorised constructions in the Capital, the Court had also expressed its displeasure over MCD not showing guilty officers the door.

"This exemplary action taken against senior echelons of MCD will send a strong signal to serving civic body officers and employees not to indulge in corrupt practices and perform their duties honestly and in accordance with the law, rules and regulations," said a senior MCD official on Friday, adding that some more heads might roll in the coming days.

Earlier, MCD's Vigilance Department had released two separate lists of engineers who had been found guilt of allowing unauthorised constructions and illegal commercial activities in their areas.

While in the first list the names of 95 engineers -- 36 assistant engineers and 59 junior engineers -- were recommended for action, of whom eight assistant engineers were subsequently suspended, the second list of 65 engineers included 11 executive engineers, 22 assistant engineers and 32 junior engineers. The civic body had also transferred 73 engineers from its Building Department after the High Court had reprimanded it for not taking action against corrupt engineers.

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