Hiring New Engineers to Meet Games Project Deadlines

With exactly two years to go before the Commonwealth Games commences in the national capital, and expenditure on civic infrastructure pegged at Rs 65,000 crores to be put in place by 2010, the Delhi Government has now sent a proposal to the Urban Development Ministry to allow hiring of engineers on a fast track.

The government is looking at creating a separate cadre of engineers as a result of a severe “shortage of engineers” in the PWD. Senior government officials said the separate cadre will be much like the separate health cadre that the Delhi Government created to fill vacancies for doctors in government-run hospitals. “Recruitment will be through the UPSC,” said a senior official.

Chief Secretary Rakesh Mehta said, “Right now our engineers are those repatriated from CPWD — firstly the numbers are not enough and secondly, the transfers take time. We want a State PWD created to ensure that there are no hitches in carrying out the projects. Right now the shortage, even at a senior level, is such that engineers are reluctant to take on new projects, citing that they are overworked. We want to carry out all recruitments for a state PWD with no repatriation from the Centre.”

The Chief Secretary added that the requirement for engineers is dire keeping in mind that infrastructure development will be put into high gear early next year onwards to finish projects in time for the Games. According to senior officials, Delhi presently needs three additional chief engineers, six superintending engineers and approximately 100 junior engineers in the PWD alone to carry out and complete slotted projects for the Commonwealth Games.

Over the next two years, Delhi will be building 26 flyovers, bridges, railway over bridges and under bridges (between the PWD and the MCD), work on only 16 of which has begun.

Besides these, flyovers and bridges that will provide connectivity to the Games Village and venues include: ITO Chungi, connecting the Games Village to the IGI Stadium, Velodrome and Chhatrasal Stadium (to be completed by June ’09), Airport corridor— Aruna Asaf Ali Marg or Africa Avenue, BJ Marg or RTR Marg and Nelson Mandela or Vivekananda Marg to connect the Games Village to the airport (to be completed by June ’09), among others.