After cash-for-transfers row, 695 civic engineers shifted online

The transfers include 152 junior engineers, 444 sub-engineers and 99 assistant engineers, covering civil, mechanical and electrical cadres. Corresponding transfer and posting orders have also been issued

MUMBAI: Nearly a year after a controversial transfer of BMC engineers triggered allegations of a cash-for-postings racket and forced the scrapping of over 120 transfer orders, the civic administration has completed its first round of online transfers. Accordingly, 695 engineers have been transferred through a computerised system aimed at curbing discretion and bringing transparency to postings.

After cash-for-transfers row, 695 civic engineers shifted online

The transfers include 152 junior engineers, 444 sub-engineers and 99 assistant engineers, covering civil, mechanical and electrical cadres. Corresponding transfer and posting orders have also been issued.

The exercise was conducted through the BMC’s newly introduced Employee Transfer System Based on Randomization. Eligible engineers were invited to submit their preferences through an online application between September. They were allowed to select up to five preferred locations or departments, a senior civic official said.

Of the 1,695 engineers identified as eligible for the transfers, 836 submitted their preferences within the stipulated period. The final 695 transfers mark the completion of this phase of the exercise.

The reform comes against the backdrop of a major controversy in October last year, when the BMC initiated transfers involving more than 160 engineers across various departments. The exercise was halted on October 16 by then municipal commissioner Bhushan Gagrani after RTI activist Anil Galgali and then Mumbai BJP chief Ameet Satam alleged a cash-for-transfer racket.

Satam alleged that officials were demanding between ₹5 lakh and ₹40 lakh for favourable postings. Following the controversy, the administration stayed the transfers, and 122 transfer orders were subsequently cancelled.

Municipal commissioner Ashwini Bhide issued a circular on September 2 introducing the computerised transfer mechanism for junior engineers, sub-engineers and assistant engineers who had completed at least three years in the same department or ward. The software-based process considers employee preferences, tenure, available vacancies and departmental manpower requirements before generating postings.

The exercise covers a substantial section of the BMC’s 4,500-strong engineering cadre, which has also been grappling with vacancies. Of 1,200 sanctioned junior engineer posts, around 600 are vacant. The corresponding vacancies are 270 of 1,900 sub-engineer posts and 195 of 590 assistant engineer posts.