MC ‘favourites’ stick around, find ways to stay longer in Chandigarh

But these ones in Municipal Corporation are no less. Some of them are holding charge of multiple posts — being a JE but holding the charge of sub-divisional officer, or being a sub-divisional officer and holding the charge of executive engineer.

The Indian Express takes a look at such officials:

N P Sharma

From sub-divisional engineer to executive engineer to superintending engineer to chief general manager (CGM), Chandigarh Smart City Limited, N P Sharma has been enjoying all coveted posts in Chandigarh, leaving no other talent to come forward.

Sharma came on deputation to Chandigarh in 2003 from Punjab’s PWD department. Interestingly, it is over 19 years that he has remained in Chandigarh and never gone back to his parent state.

Sharma joined the Chandigarh Administration as sub-divisional engineer in October 2003 in the office of engineering department, Chandigarh. During his stay here, he was also promoted as executive engineer civil on a regular basis in March 2006 and was retained as such on a deputation basis with the Chandigarh Administration till October 2010.

After rendering about seven years’ service as SDE and executive engineer, he was repatriated on October 20, 2010, to his parent department in Punjab, PWD B and R branch in Patiala. But he did not go and joined as superintending engineer on deputation with Punjab Small Scale Industries Corporation Limited in Chandigarh itself and remained here from October 20, 2010, till October 17, 2012.

Sharma is so talented that the engineering department, Chandigarh Administration, again appointed him as executive engineer civil on a deputation basis on November 16, 2013. Before this, he was also given the additional charge of superintending engineer, construction circle-I, on October 10, 2013, Chandigarh Administration. He continued here till September 2, 2014, and after a few days, Sharma went to another department in Chandigarh itself.

It didn’t stop here. Sharma was then appointed against the post of SE (B and R) on a deputation basis in the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation on August 27, 2014. He was also given the additional charge of superintending engineer public health by the Municipal Corporation against a vacant post on January 8, 2015.

Sharma was also given the charge of chief engineer MC in between when Mukesh Anand moved to the UT Administration.

Interestingly, even after such a long span, Sharma didn’t want to go back to Punjab. He became such a favourite that after taking him out of the Municipal Corporation, Sharma was then appointed as Chief General Manager of the Chandigarh Smart City Limited in December 2017, a position he is continuing to hold till now.

VIJAY BAHADUR and GURJIT SINGH

Same is the case with officials Vijay Bahadur and Gurjit Singh of the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation. Both joined as junior engineers in 2006 in the Chandigarh Administration. They joined in the office of engineering department and then moved to Chandigarh Municipal Corporation.

It is 2021 now and both are still enjoying the coveted posts.

Sources said that in 2017, there were orders of repatriating them to Punjab but they joined back on a deputation basis in Chandigarh Municipal Corporation. In MC, these junior engineers are holding additional charge of sub-divisional officers also, something for which a new person or young talent could have been hired.

Both are in the building and roads wing of the civic body. Bahadur is also holding charge in the Smart City Limited.