Staff crisis in civic bodies hampers maintenance of parks, green belts

Tribune News Service

Faridabad, August 23

With over 900 parks and several kilometres of green belts in Faridabad and surrounding areas, civic agencies, including the Faridabad Municipal Corporation (MCF) and the Haryana Shahari Vikas Pradhikaran (HSVP), are facing acute shortage of staff. This has resulted in the poor maintenance of the parks, according to sources.

The MCF has employed only 130 gardeners currently, against the sanctioned 484 posts that have been allotted to take care of over 400 parks in the city, according to sources in the civic administration. While over 300 parks have already been handed over to the Residents Welfare Associations (RWAs), the work of maintenance has been adversely affected, keeping in view the problems faced due to the untimely release of funds to the associations, sources said.

The parks had been handed over to an RWA in the wake of the staff crisis faced by the civic body. The MCF is left with only 26 per cent of the sanctioned staff as there has been no recruitment in the Horticulture Department in the past 15 years, said the sources. Only three posts of Junior Engineer and Supervisor had been functional against the sanctioned strength of 17.

‘Work being outsourced’

The FMDA, which also has a wing named as the Urban Environment Division, has adopted the policy of outsourcing the work instead of hiring ground staff on a permanent basis. — Devender Kumar, Executive engineer

“With no attempt to fill the vacant posts in the past two decades, over half of the staff has been deployed for the official premises of civic bodies or residences of senior officials,” said Naresh Shastri of the Haryana Nagar Palika Karamchari Sangh.

“The RWAs had to pay from their own pocket on several occasions due to the delay in the release of funds of the park, according an office-bearer of the RWA of Sector 21. Some of the parks have also become a grazing ground for cattle and stray animals,” said Varun Sheokand, an area resident.

The concept of Public-Private Partnership adopted for the upkeep of the Town Park, the largest public park, has failed to deliver. An industrial association assigned the task in 2017 had abandoned the project in view of the non-clearance of the dues worth lakhs in 2021.

The horticulture wing of the HSVP has also been facing acute shortage of staff. The department, which has the responsibility of maintaining the parks and green belts in the urban estates of Faridabad, Palwal and Rozka Meo of Nuh district, is left with only 30 gardeners against the 400 posts that were made about 10 years ago, an official said.

“The Faridabad Metropolitan Development Authority (FMDA), which also has a wing named as the Urban Environment Division, has adopted the policy of outsourcing the work instead of hiring staff on a permanent basis,” said Devender Kumar, Executive Engineer.

Birender Kardam, Chief Engineer, MCF, said while funds of the parks were released regularly, maintenance was being done as per policies of the department.