CHENNAI: In a bid to strengthen the Chennai Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority (CUMTA), the organisation is planning to recruit transport planner, town planner and a civil engineer on contractual basis rather than hire from Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority, on deputation.
This comes after Deloitte submitted a report on the organisation structure for CUMTA and a phased approach for staffing it for its day-to-day functioning. Based on the recommendations, the Housing and Urban Development department issued a Government Order on December 30, 2020, appointing 13 members. Of these, four are on deputation basis, three on contract basis and six being outsourced.
Official sources told The New Indian Express that recruitment is happening as CMDA does not have a transport planner who can be hired on deputation as a result CUMTA is approaching the market. Similarly, the town planner in CMDA does not have the expertise required on planning pertaining to the transport sector.
Sources said the government wants to establish and strengthen CUMTA as the key coordinating agency for delivery of urban mobility services across providers for bus, metro, rail, road and pedestrian services and infrastructure as such the plan is to recruit technical staff and adopt a citizen centric vision plan.
To a query on when will CUMTA hold its first board meeting, a top housing department official refused to give a time frame saying it will be know at an appropriate time. However, sources said the first meeting is likely to happen before March.
The CUMTA Act was passed in 2010 during the regime of then Chief Minister M Karunanidhi for proper coordination and streamlining of activities among agencies involved in planning, operating and managing transportation System, it was notified only on January 2019 and later amended in September 2020 by appointing the Chief Minister as Chairman of the authority.