The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : 500 employees to be redeployed soon

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Jul 28, 2008
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

Kerala

Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

500 employees to be redeployed soon

N.J.Nair

To aid planning, development activities

Modalities of redeployment will be worked out soon
Acute staff shortage in LSGIs

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: With a view to supporting and strengthening the planning process, 500-odd employees of various departments would be redeployed to the local self-government institutions soon.

Official sources said that 250 engineering staff of the Kerala State Housing Board (KSHB), 270 employees of Serifed and 21 ministerial employees of various schools would be redeployed to the 999 grama panchayats, 152 block panchayats, 14 district panchayats, 53 municipalities and the five Corporations.

Local Administration Minister Paloli Mohammed Kutty, Industries Minister Elamaram Karim and Finance Minister T.M. Thomas Isaac are understood to have jointly decided to redeploy the staff to support the planning and developmental activities being taken up by the LSGIs.

The Finance Department has already set a model by redeploying the 212 system administrators who were recruited for computerising the treasuries to the Sales Tax Department. Modalities of redeployment will be worked out soon, sources said.

Delay in projects

The decision to expedite redeployment has been made considering the acute staff shortage in the LSGIs to complete the Plan projects within the stipulated time.

The excess ministerial employees in the Education Department are understood to have opted to work in the LSGIs. The 250 engineering staff in the KSHB ranging from the rank of draughtsman to executive engineer as well as the 270 employees in Serifed, including 36 sericulture officers, 136 field officers, seven typists, peons and drivers will be permitted to opt civic body where they prefer to work.

Following the decentralisation of powers, the LSGIs have become the main executing agency for a variety of Plan projects as well as Centrally Sponsored Schemes.

Government criticised

The government had drawn flak for the delay in providing staff to effectively utilise the funds devolved to them. Scarcity of engineering staff has been one of the major hurdles in preparing projects, work estimates and also assessing the quality and measurement of works taken up by the LSGIs.

Staff shortage has also contributed to the delay in clearing the bills of completed works, preparation of accounts and annual financial statements on time.

There are also complaints that the secretaries of the civic bodies are overburdened and are unable to meet the workload.

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

Kerala