BMC's water department severely understaffed, says union

According to Praja, a research organisation, 39% of scheduled posts in the water department are lying vacant

Mumbai: Even as Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) commissioner Bhushan Gagrani on Friday instructed the hydraulic department to resolve complaints about water supply issues promptly, the Municipal Karmchari Kamgaar Union has alleged that the department is severely understaffed. At least 80 positions of sluicemen, who operate water valves as per designated timings, have been lying vacant in the island city for months, forcing workers to put in double shifts. Chaviwalas who supervise the sluicemen have also been filling in for the latter, while promises by the BMC to recruit more staff have not translated into reality.

At least 80 positions of sluicemen, who operate water valves as per designated timings, have been lying vacant in the island city for months, forcing workers to put in double shifts

“Sluicemen are made to work overtime for double shifts due to severe shortage of manpower,” said Sanjay Kamble Baprekar, vice president of the Municipal Karmchari Kamgaar Union. “They are also assigned work over and above their job description, like accompanying engineers to inspect water leaks and thefts during their breaks. Even chaviwalas are often forced to do the work of sluicemen despite having been promoted from the rank,” he noted.

A chaviwala from the B ward, which covers Sandhurst Road and Masjid Bandar, explained the quandary. “Many sluicemen have either retired or died or been promoted to the position of chaviwala, which has resulted in multiple vacant positions, putting a huge strain on us,” said the chaviwala who did not want to identified for fear of repercussions.

He wondered if there was any point in his being promoted from a sluiceman to a chaviwala since he is forced to do the same job as earlier. “It is disparaging. My job as chaviwala is to ensure sluicemen are distributed as per shifts and water timings, oversee their work, and attend to complaints. But since I am filling in for sluicemen, my work suffers,” he said.

“The water department as a whole is operating on 50% of the sanctioned strength,” concurred a hydraulic department official requesting anonymity. A report by Praja, a research organisation, states that 39% of scheduled posts in the water department, or roughly 4,100 posts, are lying vacant.

On May 29, representatives of the workers’ union met hydraulic department officials seeking resolution of the issue. Minutes of the meeting show the department promised to send a proposal for filling up vacancies in the water department and promoting sluicemen and chaviwalas to BMC’s chief personnel officer, who is in charge of recruitments. Union representatives also raised the issue of delays in provision of protective gear to workers, including raincoats and gumboots during the monsoon, which had not been supplied for over two years. BMC officials promised to look into this matter as well.

But despite the passage of nearly two and half months and follow-ups by Baprekar, not much has changed. “This is because recruitment and promotion of workers is handled by the labour department and the distribution and control department. Nothing is in our hands,” said an official from the hydraulic department who was present at the mAY 29 meeting.