Assertion by Principal Secretary of the Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MA&UD) department Arvind Kumar, holding the Town Planning wing responsible for enforcement, might increase the burden on the grossly understaffed department.
Also, the direction has made the Enforcement, Vigilance and Disaster Management (EVDM) wing partially redundant.
Launched over a year ago, with the mandate to function directly under the control of the GHMC Commissioner, the EVDM wing has been working autonomously from the Town Planning wing so far. It has made its mark by removing encroachments from a number of footpaths, without any consultation with the Town Planning.
However, during a recent review meeting, where Arvind Kumar issued orders for suspension of an Assistant City Planner for not removing encroachments, he said that the Town Planning wing was primarily accountable for enforcement, and may seek assistance from EVDM, if needed.
Officials from the Town Planning, however, lament that the department is grossly understaffed for many years now, and attempts to fill the vacancies are yet to bear fruit.
As per official information, for a total of 235 posts in the department, about 200 are vacant, as of now. Majority of the vacant posts are of Town Planning supervisors and field level officials, who are supposed to keep an eye on illegal structures and encroachments.
“On behalf of the corporation, a proposal had been sent to the government for filling up these vacancies over a year ago, along with those of bill collectors and food inspectors,” informed a senior official. So far, only bill collectors have been recruited through Telangana State Public Service Commission. Recruitment for Town Planning was sought to be clubbed with that of Environmental Engineers. However, with service rules yet to be framed for the Environmental Engineer posts, the recruitment got delayed.
Meanwhile, the reorganisation of zonal system following the district reorganisation, has resulted in the recruitment proposal being kept pending indefinitely.
“Government has to formally decide and declare which post falls into which category. Till then, TSPSC is said to be hands tied,” the official shared. Elections in the intervening period too, have delayed the process.
Officials are expecting notification for recruitment of Food Inspectors and Town Planning Supervisors after June 10.