BENGALURU: BBMP, today, has just 9,000 permanent employees, which is merely half the sanctioned strength. Work in several departments is affected by the shortage. Former Mayor Manjunath Reddy said several staff of the engineering department were outsourced, due to which their payments were much higher and this was another burden for the body.
N S Ramakanth, member, SWM Expert Committee, BBMP, said an SWM official was needed in every ward to enforce segregation, and the lack of such o f ficers was among the reasons why segregation levels had plateaued in the city. A former councillor said there exists an acute shortage of Ward Engineers, Health Inspectors and Second Division Clerks in most departments. He said out of 198 wards, ward engineers were present only in 63 wards. In addition, a point raised by several NGOs is that non-regularisation of pourakarmikas is leading to their exploitation by garbage contractors.
Leader of opposition in the BBMP C ouncil Padmanabha Reddy claimed some departments were actually over-staffed. He said the number of KAS officers, and the staff in the departments of Town Planning and Engineering sections were more in number than required . He said, “The members who are very much needed for the corporation, such as pourakarmikas or horticulture staff members, are few in number.”
A BBMP official said staff shortage afflicts not just BBMP, but other government departments and that it is a policy to keep staff strength low in order to curtail expenses. “In Karnataka, of the entire budget, only 33 per cent is spent on salaries of staff members. In some other states, this figure is as high as 90 per cent,” the official said.
Urban expert V Ravichandar, who was a part of the BBMP restructuring committee, had suggested to increase the numbers across the board and improve the quality of recruits. He said, “The Cadre and Recruitment Rules need to be updated too and we have made suggestions in this regard, including reorganisation of departments, job requirements and personnel qualifications desired. These are under consideration.”
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