Development in MBMC hit due to staff crunch

Lacks technical strength to monitor crucial projects

Development seems to have taken a back seat in Mira Bhayandar as there is an acute crunch of technical staff in the Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC). The Public Works Department (PWD) is the worst hit followed by the Water Supply, Town Planning and the Anti-Encroachment Wing. Apart from on-going civil by local contractors at multiple locations across the twin-city, several big-ticket projects including- BSUP Housing Scheme, Narothan Project, Underground Drainage Work and Water Supply Projects are underway, while some are in the pipe-line. While two new wards have recently been carved, the extra task of inspecting 1267 pre-1995 structures has further added to the woes. The acute staff crunch of technical staff especially the Junior Engineers’ has started showing its adverse consequences on the performance of the MBMC.

A comparative glance with other municipal corporations reveals that the civic body lags well behind in ter ms of technical staff strength. While the KalyanDombivali civic body which has a populace of 13.45 lakh boasts of 90 JE’s, their Ulhasnagar and Bhiwandi counterparts have 35 and 30 JE’s respectively on its pay roll. However, the MBMC which has a population of more than 10 lakh (Area: 79.4 sq. km, relies on a decade old staff patter n having only 19 JE’s. Sensing the seriousness of the issue, Mayor, Catlin Pereira has also written a letter in this context to the civic chief seeking immediate recruitments.

In proportion to the vast area and existing popula- tion the MBMC needs 67 JE’s, 20 Divisional Engineers and 7 Executive Engineers. “Taking into mind the shortfall of technical staff, we have outsourced 10 engineers and will deploy more as and when need arises. Our administrative expenses currently stands at 32% and we will have to ensure it remains under control.” said, civic chief, Suresh Kakani.

Admitting that lack of expertise has affected bigticket projects, an official said, “Labourers have to work at site without the technical guidance. The JE’s are already over-burdened- this not only leads to delays but also puts a question mark on the quality of work.”