Govt plans to bring engineers under one umbrella

In a move that may trigger unrest among officers of various agencies, the Delhi government is working towards removing engineers from different bodies and bringing them under one department.

PWD minister Satyender Jain has decided to restructure the engineering cadre as the government is working towards a common cadre for engineers working with organizations of the Delhi government. Jain had called a meeting of various departments in mid-May, in which they were asked to submit the details of the number of engineers working on various posts. After the meeting, a circular was issued in which Jain asked various departments not to hire any engineer on deputation till further orders.

“We are trying to bring all the engineers under one head so that there is no repetition of work,” Jain told HT. Sources said that the PWD minister, who is also an architect; feels that cost of various projects can be reduced if engineers work efficiently.

“There have been occasions, when the same road is repaired by different agencies and they claimed the bill for repair. Due to this, the government was facing losses, and if only one agency is made responsible for construction, such fraud can be avoided,” said a senior government official. Officials said that it has not been decided yet whether a new department will be formed or all the engineers will be shifted to the Public Works Department (PWD).

Currently engineers are posted at PWD, Urban Development, Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd etc.