Noida CEO on austerity drive: Private guards, office helps face the axe
The CEO wants to end all unnecessary expenditure as the authority is staring at a financial crisis, officials said.
The chief executive officer of the Noida authority, Amit Mohan Prasad, has directed all departmental heads to do away with security guards and office assistants.
The CEO wants to end all unnecessary expenditure as the authority is staring at a financial crisis, officials said.
As part of the austerity drive, the CEO has already done away with four patrolling vehicles, two ambulances and two cranes that were deployed on the 25-km Noida-Greater Noida Expressway since January 2016.
This was done after the CEO was informed that the police could provide such emergency services, while the ambulance could be provided by a hospital. The authority spends Rs 1.2 crore annually on this facility.
“Why should we spend public funds on unnecessary things? Why should we spend money on projects, which are not needed?” Prasad said.
According to the authority, around 640 private security guards and around 100 other workers have been working with the various departments of the authority.
The authority spends around Rs 50 lakh per month on the salary of auxillary staff.
“Some people have lodged complaints that many of these security guards exist only on paper and they do not actually work. This is a waste of public funds,” a senior Noida authority official said.
The authority hires private security guards to manage the parking outside the authority office, to monitor construction work at sites and for deployment on government land to keep it safe from land grabbers.
The CEO has also directed the engineering, civil and planning departments to remove all unnecessary consultants, who are drawing a huge salary from the authority.
These consultants work with the engineering or planning department in various projects such as remodelling of Sector 18 and construction of multilevel parking lots and elevated road, among others.
“When we have experts of urban planning, engineering and architects, then why should we hire private experts or consultants and bear an additional financial burden. The CEO wants all department heads to review these appointments and remove those who are not productive enough,” an official said.
Now the department chiefs will do a review of all staff and remove all private employees deemed unnecessary and inform the CEO about the same.