BENGALURU: The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), which has been struggling to tackle the problems of the burgeoning metropolis — be it bad roads and drainages, garbage mess or flooding during monsoons — is also having to deal with a big problem within itself — that of a major major staff crunch. Of the 17,931 total sanctioned posts in the civic body, a staggering 10,320 posts (57.55%) are vacant. This includes posts of principals in BBMP colleges, teachers in both primary and high schools, gynaecologists and paediatricians at BBMP hospitals and others.
The list also includes vacancy of 5,811 more pourakarmikas, even though thousands of them work on contract basis. Officials say that a large chunk of vacancies will be filled after 4,000 pourakarmikas are appointed on a priority basis. Experts feel that vacancies in such huge numbers adversely affect administration of the civic body, catering to a city of over one crore residents.Bengaluru Development Minister K J George had recently said that the extent of vacancies in various departments of BBMP will reduce soon after the recruitment of 4,000 pourakarmikas. The appointments, when completed, will increase BBMP strength from the existing 7,611 to 11,611 posts - bringing down the vacancy rate to about 33.25 per cent.
George said that the appointments to other posts, such as principals, will be conducted ahead of the next academic year.A BBMP official, who did not wish to be quoted, said that some vacancies were stretching the existing staff, who are forced to perform multiple duties. “Adequate appointments should be made to ensure smooth operations in all departments of BBMP,” he said.
When contacted, RK Misra, founder-director, Centre for SMART Cities said filling vacancies is necessary to ensure smooth functioning of the city corporation. However, he said that there are several other problems related to the vacancies. “One of the main reasons for inadequate number of quality engineers in engineering section is that they are all on deputation from Public Works Department,” he said. Apart from affecting the number of engineers working, it also affects the quality of work implemented by them as they are not trained for municipal areas. “The government should consider introducing the municipal cadre to ensure adequate qualified personnel in urban bodies,” he added.
Health department worst-hit
The health department has among the worst working-to-vacancy ratio, second only to the horticulture section. Of the total sanctioned staff strength of 2,263, only 714 are working and 1,549 (68.44%) posts are vacant. In the department, the total number of gynaecologists and pediatricians - with sanctioned strength of 30 and 19, respectively - is zero. Similarly, of the 198 senior health inspector posts, 103 are vacant; of 18 anaesthetists posts, 16 are vacant; and of 37 medical health officer posts, 19 are vacant. In the horticulture section, only 374 of the 975 sanctioned posts were occupied, majority of the vacancies being gardeners.
The other departments hit hard due to delay in recruitment are engineering and education. In the education department, there are only four college principals against a sanctioned strength of eleven. Similarly, posts of 207 of the 343 assistant teachers of high schools and 104 of 149 assistant teachers of primary school are vacant. In the engineering section, 5,811 of the 6,532 vacancies are of pourakarmikas. Only 3,588 people are working against a total sanctioned strength of 9,966. In contrast, BBMP has appointed more than the sanctioned strength of junior engineers, as 228 are working against a sanctioned strength of 118.