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Saturday, May 03, 2008
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State engineers go on mass leave

Staff Reporter

BHUBANESWAR: Engineers manning vital installations, including two engineers-in-chief of the Water Resource Department, went on mass leave on Friday after their talks with the State government failed to break the impasse.

The Orissa Engineers’ Service Association (OESA) convened a general body meeting here and rejected to reconciliation efforts made by the government.

The OESA had earlier submitted their nine-point demands putting the administration on notice.

“The State government was prepared to offer us four posts of special secretary, which was not acceptable to us. Because, the special secretaries do not have any major say in taking up developmental works,” OESA general secretary Manoj Ranjan Nanda said.

Mr. Nanda said while only the Works Department was headed by an engineer, other departments including panchayati raj, water resource, public health department and rural development, should be governed by engineers.

“We also need technical manpower to assist the top engineers in those departments. Why should engineering departments be headed by non-technical persons? According to administrative reforms committee recommendations, engineering departments should be operated by technical personnel,” the OESA general secretary said.

Pay scale anomalies

Engineers were also upset about the alleged anomalies in their pay scale. They demanded that engineers should be treated as Class I officer at entry level and pay scale be revised from present Rs. 6,500 to Rs. 8,000, he said.

OESA central committee had a meeting with Bijay Patnaik, Special Secretary in Chief Minister’s Office on Thursday on various demands. The government was not in favour of hiking the pay scale as demanded by the engineers. Sources said the government was of the view that pay fixation matters should be discussed in the fitment committee, appointed by the government in wake of the Sixth Pay Commission’s recommendation.

The OESA, however, said the State government should concede their demands as it did responding to the Orissa Medical Service Association (OMSA). When doctors threatened to tender mass resignation, State government had succumbed to the pressure. In view of the strike by engineers, essential services such as water supply and civic amenities were likely to be affected. Vital hydro-electrical stations could come to the halt, Mr. Nanda said.

This is the time when all tenders for developmental works are finalised. Since top engineers are on leave, it would have an impact on development.

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