BMC chief planning one-step promotion to get officers to tackle demolitions

Made the decision after realising that assistant engineers refuse the job over court appearances

Facing an acute crunch of designated civic officers responsible for tackling illegal structures, BMC Commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal has decided to temporarily promote some assistant engineers to the post of executive engineers. Termed as one-step promotion, the system is already prevalent in the Mumbai police, in the Anti-Corruption Bureau, the state intelligence, the protection branch and the special branch.

When Chahal joined as BMC chief in May this year, he realised that seven posts of designated officers were vacant. When told that assistant engineers were not willing to take up the job, he decided to promote them with added pay. However, after the completion of a demolition task, they would revert to their post of assistant engineer.

Chahal said he found assistant engineers don’t like to work in the area of illegal structures. He said, “They feel it’s risky. When I asked for these posts to be filled, half of them didn’t turn up. They need to be interested in the job. So I have asked deputy municipal commissioner (special engineering) Vinod Chitthore to make a proposal for one-step promotion.”

In response to Chahal’s directive, Chitthore prepared a note that states that there is a tendency amongst officers to get these postings cancelled, failing which they resign from the BMC. As per the note, the new step will enable eligible persons to work wholeheartedly for the civic body. The city engineer has also been told to work out a similar proposal.

One of the designated officers who got the job in 2019 said during demolition drives in slums, dwellers curse and abuse. “Phone calls from local politicians to stop demolitions were also a regular feature. I couldn’t sleep and had nightmares of people crying while losing their homes. But I had to do my duty and failure to do it attracted criticism from bosses and courts,” he recounted.

Sainath Rajadhyaksha, who heads the Brihanmumbai Municipal Engineers Association, said with the government’s changing policies, it has become very difficult for designated officers to perform. He said, “It’s a sacrificial posting. Even with this one-step promotion, I am not sure how many people would be interested.” He said in other cities assistant municipal commissioners or ward officers are held responsible for illegal constructions. “It’s only in Mumbai that the designated officers are held responsible,” he said.