NEW DELHI: A major staff shortage at the Delhi government’s environment department has finally ended with the initiation of a new and young workforce. The 30 junior environmental engineers and 22 green fellows, inducted after three decades, will drive the capital city’s fight against pollution, environment minister Gopal Rai said on Wednesday.
“The engineers and fellows will add strength to the government’s environment enforcement and regulatory measures. The green fellows are part of a unique fellowship programme started by the government for young professionals to contribute to Delhi’s green initiatives while the junior environmental engineers will act as a force multiplier for the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) as well,” said a senior Delhi government official.
Rai said that the Green Delhi fellowship programme is a one-of-a-kind initiative by the government for young, motivated professionals to add innovative and creative support to Delhi’s environmental governance. “DPCC too has been further strengthened by hiring 30 junior environmental engineers for the first time in almost three decades,” the minister said.
Reena Gupta, advisor to the minister said, “The Green Delhi fellows and engineers will bolster the initiatives being undertaken by the department. They will support the department in making strategies, data analysis, field work and empirical research among other tasks. The new recruits will also strengthen the forest department and aid the government’s forestry programmes.”
The fellows and engineers will work under the close supervision of senior officials of the department on various environmental issues from air pollution to preservation of forests and wetlands to Yamuna cleaning and solid waste management, among others.