‘Hurt’,Games engineers write to Urban Development ministry

“The remarks are very disheartening,particularly as the construction process for the Commonwealth Games is in the final phase. The entire engineering fraternity,serving and retired,is hurt and humiliated,” CESGA president Sarvagya Kr Srivastava wrote in the letters.

Explaining the delays,Srivastava said: “The engineers had to run from pillar to post to obtain approval from local bodies that showed no concern for timelines and importance of events. Most local bodies are under the Ministry of Urban Development. In many cases,time taken for approval was more than construction period itself.”

Srivastava has also enlisted the “constraints in which engineers work”. “Engineers have to work within the tight compartment of government rules and procedures. It hardly allows engineers to take any innovative step to expedite work.”

Srivastava further wrote: “After the successful organisation of the Games,engineers would only be made to reply to various memos and chargesheets pertaining to their work done at a very hurried pace.”

The association has also drawn attention to the “dismal cadre management”. “The 1979 batch of the Central Engineering Service is yet to be promoted to the level of joint secretary,whereas officers up to 1990 batches in IAS,IAAS and IPS are already working as joint secretaries. Due to slower promotions,engineers have to endure the humiliation of working as subordinates even to their juniors,” the letter reads.

The engineers have now demanded cadre review,a housing complex for CPWD in Delhi,pay parity for CPWD officers,training facility and dedicated training institutes among others.