HYDERABAD: Finding the GHMC “more convenient and profitable” to work for, many officials are not returning to their parent departments.
As per rules, officials can work with GHMC only for three years. If their services are important, they can stick around for another two years. Thereafter, they must return to their parent departments. But they are not. Most of such officers are working with sanitation, urban community development, health, engineering and IT and other wings.
These officials are able to continue in their posts by bribing officials of administrative wing of the GHMC, thereby not letting the civic body’s commissioner know that duration of their deputation is over. However, there have also been instances when even after the commissioner surrendering such officials to their parent department, they are continuing with the GHMC.
Surprisingly, the administrative wing is the only department, which is not using e-office. Information flow here is still on paper. e-Office had been introduced for effective and transparent working of the corporation under the National e-Governance Programme (NeGP).
However, this mechanism is not being used by the administrative wing, which is responsible for all service-related issues. Highly placed sources said an electrical engineer has been working in IT wing for over five years by “managing” his higher authorities. Similarly, an officer from births and deaths department is continuing for over five years, though his superior had locked him out of his office for overstay.
These two examples are just tip of an iceberg. Over 40 officials of GHMC have been continuing with their corporation despite their tenures with the civic body ending.
A senior GHMC official, on condition of anonymity, said the civic body has become a rehabilitation centre. Even officials suspended by their parent departments are able to get a posting in GHMC, regardless of their qualification. This is because higher civic authorities are succumbing to pressures brought in by their political bosses.
"If a thorough enquiry is conducted, these 40 high and middle-rank officials will be thrown out of GHMC,” the official remarked.
