CHENNAI: In what could be a massive internal restructure of the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA), 17 officials, including three chief planners, were transferred for the first time in 10 years. Sources said the move is aimed at ensuring transparency. Officials are usually transferred after being promoted, and this is the first time such transfers have happened in the CMDA, official sources said.
When contacted, a top CMDA official confirmed the transfers, saying, “This is internal restructuring only.” It is learnt that the CMDA ordered the transfers as it tried to match capacity and job requirement, besides curbing corruption and vested interests. This comes as the CMDA is conducting a probe into recruitment through the Electronic Corporation of Tamil Nadu (ELCOT). Civil engineers and town planners were being hired for CMDA by ELCOT under the guise of recruitment for network engineers, IT coordinators and technology coordinators.
While ELCOT has stopped such recruitment and returned the cheques, it is to be seen what action is taken against those who were recruited through ELCOT. The corporation can hire technical professionals, such as electrical engineers, and those holding BCA or BSc Computer Science degrees or a diploma in ECE or EEE, for State departments. For the CMDA, however, it recruited civil engineers, which calls into question the entire process.
What’s more, most of those hired are relatives of CMDA employees. They are employed on the Nominal Muster Roll (NMR). Also, though the recruitment process is only for temporary postings, the employees have been retaining their posts for the past six years, according to sources. If transparency has to be ushered in, the CMDA should cancel these recruitments and hire fresh applicants in a transparent manner, sources said, adding that this would generate jobs for qualified candidates.