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The Union government’s proposal to amend the recruitment rules for Director of Central Public Works Department to allow engineers from other departments, including defense and railways, to apply for the top post has raised eyebrows among many serving and retired CPWD engineers. The Indian Express has learned.
On March 28, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development announced the draft appointment rules for the deputy director of the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development and solicited opinions and suggestions from stakeholders for 30 days.
According to the draft, the director general of CPWD will be appointed on an “acting” basis instead of the current process where the seniormost candidate is promoted to the post, as is customary now. The draft also provides for the creation of a director-general position, subject to workload.
What worries many engineers is that officials outside CPWD will be eligible to apply – a first in the organization’s 170-year history. The draft said officers below the age of 58 years holding the posts of Special Secretary or equivalent and Additional Secretary or equivalent can apply for the post of Director General of CPWD.
The draft said a selection committee comprising the CEO of NITI Aayog, Secretary MoHUA, Secretary, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways and “eminent external experts in the field appointed by the Ministry with the approval of the Minister” will evaluate the applicants. The term will be for two years but may be extended on a case-by-case basis, the statement said.
Officers from four categories: civil engineering, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering and construction will be eligible. These services include Central Engineering Service, Border Roads Engineering Service, Military Engineering Service, Indian Railways Engineering Service, Indian Defense Engineering Service, Indian Naval Equipment Service and Central Construction Service. A MoHUA official said the proposal aims to include competency in the selection criteria in addition to qualifications. The official added that this is just a proposal for now and the final decision will be taken after taking into account the input of stakeholders.
Several senior CPWD engineers, who spoke on condition of anonymity, expressed concerns over the move. An engineer said it is helpful that the CPWD director general is currently rising through the ranks and has been given the top post after decades of experience in the organization as the role of the director general is “primarily administrative rather than technical” .
Another engineer said it would be better if other organizations like Railways, MES and BRO were also opened to all engineers, including those from CPWD, instead of the CPWD DG post being the only one open to outsiders. A third engineer said the move was worrisome as it would limit the opportunities of CPWD engineers to become DGs. That said, the engineer added that opening jobs to outsiders could lead to higher-quality candidates, rather than the current system that only values qualifications.
A retired senior CPWD official said the move may harm CPWD in the long run as talented young engineers will not expect much after joining the organization. The official suggested that the best candidates, irrespective of their qualifications, should be selected from the CPWD instead of inviting applications from outside. “The outlook for engineers is sad. When opportunities for young people to get secretary-level posts diminish, they will not join CPWD. If it has to be done, it should be mutual. Let CPWD engineers apply for senior posts in other organizations.” The officials said.
© Indian Express Private Limited
First uploaded on: July 4, 2024 19:31 UTC
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