Staff shortage hits land survey in dist

The land survey department in Coimbatore is struggling with a shortage of manpower. The government has sanctioned 147 staff for the department, but it has just 65 people.

Coimbatore district has 10 taluks - Coimbatore South, Coimbatore North, Mettupalayam, Annur, Sulur, Madukkarai, Perur, Pollachi, Kinathukadavu and Valparai. Ground surveyors, taluk level surveyors, head surveyors and draftsmen cadre staff have been posted in each taluk office. They have to conduct surveys often to remove encroachments from government land.

"The government has sanctioned 147 staff for the department in Coimbatore district. But with only 65 people, survey work is severely affected. There is no staff in Valparai taluk and field surveyors often travelled to Valparai from Pollachi to survey lands. The government should fill the vacancies in the district," said a ground surveyor.

He added that the department played a vital role for 215 years since April 10, 1802. At this point, modernisation of the department is essential and each taluk office should be given advanced equipment to measure land with accuracy.

When contacted, a senior official from the survey department said more than 200 people were recruited for the post of surveyor through the Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission a few months ago. They will be given training for three months at the government survey training institute at Orathanadu in Thanjavur. "We expect that at least 30 surveyors will be sent to Coimbatore district after the training," he added.