GMDA faces flak over move to hire retired engineers, officials refused to comment

Civic activists and residents’ groups have criticised the move, saying that the increasing dependence on retired personnel is undermining efficiency, accountability, and opportunities for young engineers.

A fresh notification issued by the Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) inviting applications from retired engineers for contractual appointments has triggered debate over city’s governance and employment priorities.

The contract will be made for up to three years or until an officer turns 65. (HT arhive)

Civic activists and residents’ groups have criticised the move, saying that the increasing dependence on retired personnel is undermining efficiency, accountability, and opportunities for young engineers.

The advertisement, released on October 8, invites retired officers up to the age of 62 years to apply for positions such as executive engineer (engineer-I) and sub divisional engineer (engineer-II) under the GMDA (Appointment of Temporary Staff) Regulations, 2018.

According to GMDA’s official website data, currently, of 64 listed officials, 34 are retired, and among them, 10 are above 65 years of age. Six are reportedly around 70 years old.

The authority plans to engage retired officers from departments such as Public Works Department (Buildings & Roads) (PWD -B&R), Public Health Engineering Department (PHED), Haryana Shehri Vikas Pradhikaran (HSVP), Central Public Works Department (CPWD), and National Highways Authority of India (NHA) for key posts in roads, water, and horticulture infrastructure divisions,the notification said.

The contract will be made for up to three years or until an officer turns 65. The remuneration will be based on their last drawn pension, minus pension received.

GMDA officials refused to comment on the matter despite repeated messages and calls.

Reacting to the development, Praveen Malik, president of the United Association of New Gurugram, “I am not against appointing retired officials in advisory roles. Having one or two experienced officers can help guide the system. However, appointing a large number of them to operational posts directly impacts performance and responsibility.”

He said that, despite Gurugram and Faridabad being the state’s highest revenue contributors, more than half of their staff are retired officials.

Malik said that the problem prevails within the Faridabad Metropolitan Development Authority (FMDA) as well. GMDA and FMDA function directly under the chief minister’s office. He said that the dominance of retired personnel has created “a governance imbalance” where accountability is weakened.

“Retired officials, though experienced, are rarely held answerable when things go wrong. A recent case involving R.K. Mittal (Retd. XEN), linked to the Kanhai Chowk upgradation project, exposed substandard material usage during a CM Flying Squad inspection,” Malik added. “This is exactly the kind of complacency and nexus-building that active officers could avoid.”

The notification comes at a time when Haryana continues to struggle with rising unemployment rates. Despite repeated assurances of two lakh government jobs, local youth and qualified engineers claim to have been overlooked in favour of “connections-based contractual rehiring” of former bureaucrats.

“This practice undermines the government’s employment commitment. It’s high time the government institutes a review and checkpoint mechanism across departments to ensure transparency and fair recruitment,” he said.

As the city struggles with chronic issues of infrastructure delay, drainage failures, and waste management lapses, residents say fresh expertise is needed — not recycled leadership.

“The system needs renewal, not extension,” Malik said. “Otherwise, Gurugram will keep paying the price for a governance model stuck in the past.”