Sources claimed that the chief minister and his cabinet colleagues have written to the LG regarding the vacancies and that it is now the responsibility of the LG to fill the vacancies.
NEW DELHI: The Delhi government is facing a crippling staff shortage with an average 50% of posts lying vacant across departments. A report highlighting the crisis shows that the shortfall in 20 key departments ranges from 20% (power) to as much as 87% (law).
Government sources say the situation is grave and can impact implementation of key projects. At a time when public transport is seen as the answer to Delhi’s pollution problem, the transport department has a huge 62.7% staff shortfall. Almost half the posts are vacant in revenue; excise, entertainment and luxury taxes; social welfare; education; statistics and economics; and planning.
The public works department, which has the task of implementing and maintaining infrastructure projects, is grappling with an almost 40% staff shortage. This data is learned to have been compiled for an assessment of the governance challenge facing the state and is likely to be part of a white paper on the “performance” of the lieutenant governor.
Govt says budget goals not met due to vacancies
The document, put together by the political executive, is expected to be tabled in the Delhi assembly on Tuesday by deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia. Reliable sources told TOI that a significant part of the report is dedicated to the services department that handles the bureaucracy.
The white paper will be the Arvind Kejriwal-led government’s latest political salvo. It will argue that with the LG in charge of “services”, as stated by the Delhi high court in an August 4, 2016 order, the AAP government finds itself helpless when it comes to appointing, selecting, transferring and posting staff, besides expediting recruitments.
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Interestingly, a majority of these vacancies actually pertain to posts that are to be filled through examinations and selection by the Delhi Subordinate Services Selection Board (DSSSB) of Delhi government. In the light of HC’s judgment, the AAP government has been arguing that all services-related matters now fall in the LG’s jurisdiction, including the accountability of DSSSB.
Sources claimed that the chief minister and his cabinet colleagues have written to the LG regarding the vacancies and that it is now the responsibility of the LG to fill the vacancies. Education being a priority for the AAP government, sources pointed out that the number of sanctioned positions for teachers is 66,128 but only 34211 regular teachers are currently employed. This means that there are over 30,000 vacancies in the schools of the directorate of education. “Of the 76 posts for deputy directors of education (DDE), only 14 are currently filled.
When a large-scale audit of accounts of the private schools was to be conducted, the deputy chief minister requested for 12 DANICS officers to be deputed as DDEs for this purpose. Not only did the LG fail to provide this manpower, he never responded to the government’s letter, government sources alleged.
In this context, the political brass cites the outcome budget 2017-18 that was tabled in the ongoing budget session to point out that several departments have not been able to achieve their proposed outcomes. “An important reason for this seems to be the unusually large number of vacancies in all departments,” sources said.
