With staff crunch, Greater Noida authority fails to address civic woes

GREATER NOIDA: The Greater Noida authority is struggling to improve civic amenities in the city as it faces an acute staff shortage

GREATER NOIDA: The Greater Noida authority is struggling to improve civic amenities in the city as it faces an acute staff shortage. Most of its engineers have been transferred to other government bodies in the state. The Uttar Pradesh industry department moved at least 37 engineers managers and other officials in the last few months. According to Ritu Maheshwari, chief executive officer, Noida authority, each department currently has about 25% of the required staff. Maheshwari took the additional charge of the Greater Noida authority on October 1 this year.

With staff crunch, Greater Noida authority fails to address civic woes

The department has appointed replacements for only seven of the 37 posts till now, officials said. The authority is currently functioning without any general manager rank officer to head the engineering and projects department which is crucial for municipal work. As a stop-gap arrangement, the authority has appointed a senior manager as general manager. There are only five senior managers out of the sanctioned 16, six junior engineers against the requirement of 60, along with two vacant deputy general manager posts. Departments such as horticulture, electrical, and health face severe staff crunch. Additionally, two senior managers out of the sanctioned five will retire next year.

Greater Noida has around 38000 hectares of land notified for development, half of which has been developed as various residential, industrial and other projects, officials said. “We are facing staff shortage but we need to improve municipal functions with available resources. We will look into the staff issue and take an appropriate decision. Our target is to maintain the civic infrastructure and improve municipal function, including sanitation to turn Greater Noida into a beautiful city,” Maheshwari said. The CEO directed staff to build gates at all entry points to Greater Noida and install façade lights.

Residents complained of poor drinking water supply, potholed roads, drainage and choking issues, and sewerage problems among others. “The Greater Noida authority has failed to address civic issues in the city due to a lack of professionalism. The authority and the UP government must deploy adequate staff and improve municipal services,” Alok Singh, founder and president, Active Citizen Team, said.