‘Efficiency’ of 11 MCG consultants under scanner

Gurgaon: Eleven consultants working with different departments of MCG have come under the scanner. The civic body has, in fact, decided to carry out their performance review in the wake of some councillors questioning their efficiency at the recently concluded House meeting, despite the MCG paying the consultants a fat remuneration package.
An MCG official said that the past-year performances of these consultants will be first reviewed before taking a decision on their continuation. “We have already terminated the services of three consultants, two of whom were with the horticulture department and one with the Swachh Bharat Mission, on the account of their poor performance. Now we have 11 consultants left, whose work will be reviewed.”
MCG officials said that the councillors raised the issue of the consultants at the House meeting held recently.
Ravinder Yadav, councillor of ward number 3, said, “A majority of the consultants are not working efficiently for the corporation and they draw hefty remuneration. They are just adding to the financial burden of the corporation. We had raised the issue at the last house meeting and the commissioner assured us that the performance of the consultants will be reviewed and then action will be taken accordingly.”
MCG commissioner Mukesh Kumar Ahuja could not be reached, despite repeated attempts.
“Besides getting fat remuneration from the MCG, the consultants also get half percent of the estimates prepared by them for several projects. A consultant gets at least Rs 1 lakh a month,” Ashwani Sharma, councillor of ward number 19, claimed. “The consultants also prepare inflated estimates, thereby causing financial losses to the MCG.”
“After the two consultants were removed from the horticulture department, there are only two executive engineers left for the entire city. There is a need to appoint more executive and junior engineers for the horticulture department,” he added.