State Public Works Minister K.V. Ramalingam on Sunday assured members of the Association of Engineers of the Tamil Nadu Public Works Department that all their demands, including one for conferring Anna Award every year on meritorious engineers, would be taken up with Chief Minister Jayalalithaa. “I hope I will succeed in my endeavour”, he added, inaugurating the Platinum Jubilee celebrations of the association here.
Responding to a representation by one of the engineers for desilting of all the tanks in and around Chennai to fight water scarcity in the capital, the Minister said the Chief Minister had already chalked out a plan involving Rs 620 crore in this regard. She is according high priority to schemes like linking of rivers in the State and drinking water for Chennai”, he added.
Pay anomalies
D.Arumugham, the association's president, pleaded for sorting out pay anomalies, restoration of rotational transfer system, implementation of all the building works of the state Government only through the Buildings Wing of the PWD, recruitment of engineers through the Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission every year, and grant of special allowance for those working in Design and Research wing of the PWD.
Mr.Arumugham also opposed any move to bifurcate the PWD and appealed to the Government to continue the current system.
R.Gopalakrishnan, Chief engineer (General), said the department had already submitted the promotion lists to the Government.
He also expressed the hope that the Government would consider the plea for restoring Anna Award for engineers too.
M. Nagaraj, a member of the All India Engineers Association and a representative of the PWD Engineers' association of Karnataka, pleaded that the senior most PWD engineer should be appointed the Secretary of the department so that his handling would be more professional in approach.” Such a system already exists in 14 States”, he said.
