Sarkari DDA goes for a corporate makeover

Speaking to Newsline, DDA vice-chairman Balwinder Kumar said, “This new look will help change the work culture, making employees more receptive to public issues. Efficiency and quality of work will also improve”.

According to DDA officials, the planning had begun six months ago when the need was felt to go in for a revamp.

“We decided to change the facade of the building and bring in more modern features to make the working environment more corporate-like and enjoyable,” a senior DDA official said.

As of now, three floors — the first, third and the fifth — have been refurbished, with new work stations designed by Godrej. Work on the remaining two floors will be completed in the next three months. Officials said the work stations, which consist of cubicles, will be such that junior employees and senior officials will share the same work space, in a message to promote “unity” and a “friendly” work environment.

Additionally, the department has floated tenders for bringing in wireless internet facility in the entire building. The department has expressed interest in connecting all of its 60 offices with WiFi.

The ground floor which is awaiting revamp.

The department wants provision of the facility on an urgent basis at its Vikas Minar and Vikas Sadan offices first, before extending it to its other offices.

“We have asked for a minimum of 50 Mbps bandwidth at both locations with a provision of extending it to 100 Mbps. We want the facility to be available at every corner in the two buildings to begin with. We are targeting 1,000 users at a time,” the official said.

Apart from this, the department has also hired a vendor for record management to maintain a complete database of all files and documents.

“This is an urgent requirement because maintaining files requires a lot of storage space. At the moment, we have had to shift some of our cupboards to our office in Vasant Kunj. Apart from files, we realised that computerising all documents, especially in important departments like land, planning and architecture, was a necessity since there is always the risk of a file getting lost or papers getting damaged. Maintaining records in a database makes it accessible to everyone within the department, without having to flip through heaps of files and papers,” the official said.

Also, each floor will have a common room for staff to interact during lunch hours or to meet guests. The room will have a TV and tea and coffee vending machines.

The department had already gone in for a major shift with new focus on hiring young professionals on a contractual basis, owing to the high numbers of staff retiring. The selection committee responsible for hiring new recruits has been given instructions to focus on engaging fresh graduates or post graduates in the fields of law, chartered accountancy and management.