The State government’s initiative to do away with 33,062 temporary posts in phases to augment its austerity drive has come in for criticism.
The decision to scrap 25 per cent temporary posts, which needs annual government clearance, was taken last year to address the financial crisis. Revenue and Treasury were the first ones to be trimmed and the measure would soon be extended to other departments too. Irrigation tops the list with 5,778 posts, followed by Revenue with 5,072, Agriculture 4,695, General Education 3,304, Survey and Land Records 2,999 and Police 2,244 posts.
Official sources told The Hindu here that shedding the flab by doing away with redundant posts was commendable, but downsizing the administrative machinery without a realistic assessment of workload and its impact on the service delivery mechanism would have far-reaching consequences.
The current thinking at the top administrative echelons to wind up the design wing of Irrigation Department is being pointed out as a case in point. This would eventually lead to outsourcing of the tasks of the design wing. In due course, the same pattern would be emulated in Revenue and other departments for tax collection, issuing of licence, and vehicle tax collection.
In effect, this means that private agencies may be hired to render such services, sources said.
A majority of the temporary posts sanctioned as an appendage of various projects which had become defunct over the years are still maintained on flimsy grounds. This is mostly true in the case of Agriculture, Irrigation, Public Works Department, and Irrigation. Some, such as those at the lower rungs in Survey and Land Records and Economics and Statistics, have become obsolete with modernisation, sources said.
When the government, which is hard-pressed for resources, is making an effort to abandon such posts to rein in its expenditure, it was well accepted too. But the main complaint is that the government is adopting such steps in haste without considering the option for redeployment and also making a proportionate cut at the top level. Downsizing at the lowest level without shedding the excessive weight at the topmost level will not yield the desired results.
Such crucial decisions should be implemented only after a thorough review at different levels, or it would impact the delivery of services, the sources said.
