New Delhi   

Dismissals set panic button among engineers

Staff Reporter

`Inquiries are going on against more than 150 officials and so the future of several senior engineers is uncertain'

NEW DELHI: The dismissal of nine assistant engineers by Municipal Commissioner A. K. Nigam has left the Municipal Corporation of Delhi engineers a worried lot. With over 150 engineers being probed for their role in allowing authorised constructions in the Capital between 2001 and 2005, there is now a genuine fear that more might end up losing their jobs in the near future.

As many 18 executive engineers were sacked in April this year. On Friday Mr. Nigam ordered dismissal of nine assistant engineers after he was accused by the Councillors of adopting a pick-and-choose policy while taking action against engineers. While the engineers were hoping that no severe action would be initiated against them especially after the passage of the Delhi Laws (Special Provisions) Act, 2006, stopping all sealing and demolition exercise for a year, the fresh sacking of engineers has caught even the Councillors by surprise.

Describing the recent sacking as the easiest way to escape the court's wrath, the engineers fear that more of their colleagues might face the axe in future. "With the date of the next court hearing approaching fast, the MCD should have something to present before the court, and the sacking of nine assistant engineers is a part of it. Departmental inquiries are also going on against more than 150 engineers, including executive engineers and superintending engineers, so the future of several senior engineers is uncertain," said a senior MCD engineer.

"When the executive engineers were sacked we had met the Commissioner urging him not to target only engineers because the entire system is to be blamed for the civic problems. Mr. Nigam had assured us that he would look into the matter and work towards improving the system. But again the engineers have been made scapegoat, first it was due to pressure from the court and now to appease the Councillors," said MCD Engineers' Forum general secretary A. P. Khan, adding that engineers would now fight against this "discrimination". "Forum office-bearers will meet on Monday," said Mr. Khan.

Similarly, the Councillors are also a little surprised over the recent development. At the Standing Committee meeting held last week, the Councillors had accused the Municipal Commissioner of adopting a pick-and-choose policy in penalising engineers. Actually, they were upset over the sacking of 18 executive engineers who, they alleged, were not given any chance to defend themselves and were arbitrarily sacked. "But now it seems that more charge-sheeted engineers will be shown the door soon. With the matter still in court and the future of the demolition and sealing drives not very clear, the Commissioner wants to give a clear signal to his corrupt employees as well as to court and the Centre," said a senior Councillor.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

"Destiny is what you desire today"
Delhi may lose out on Central funds for urban renewal
Dismissals set panic button among engineers
MCD to recover demolition charges from residents
Sounds strange, but water complaints see a dip this year
`Bhagidars of Bhagidari' up in arms against Sheila Government
CBI probe into power privatisation demanded
DTC to run 94 U-specials
Power cuts are back again
Mukhi criticises Speaker's decision
Around the City
Briefly
In the Capital Today
Reader's Mail

Copyright © 2006, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu