Mayor Sudheer Shetty.
Credit: Special Arrangement
Mangaluru: The administrative division of the Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) into three zones for the convenience of the public has been impacted by the substantial number of vacant positions, affecting services offered to citizens.
Of the 1,645 posts sanctioned to the city corporation under Cadres A, B, C, and D, 1,091 are currently filled, leaving 554 positions vacant. The existing staff strength of 1,091 comprises 589 under municipal service, 36 on deputation in the MCC, and 466 as outsourced staff.
Among the vacant positions, 36 roles, including environmental engineer, assistant engineer, junior engineer, junior health inspector, first-grade revenue inspector, and bill collectors, are urgently needed to manage operations, according to MCC Commissioner Anand C L.
Mayor Sudheer Shetty Kannur submitted a memorandum to the government through Urban Development and Town Planning Minister Byrathi Suresh, urging the immediate filling of 429 posts across 12 categories.
The Mayor highlighted that out of the three sanctioned posts of assistant executive engineer (UGD), two remain vacant, and nine assistant engineer posts are unfilled out of the 12 sanctioned positions.
In the MCC, four environmental engineer positions are sanctioned, but only one is filled, and the rest are vacant. Of the 16 junior health inspector positions, 12 are vacant, leaving only four to manage responsibilities across all 60 wards of the MCC.
Tax collection in the MCC is managed by only nine tax collectors out of the sanctioned 45 positions. Four first-grade revenue inspector positions are vacant out of the 12 sanctioned, and all 99 posts of UGD helpers are unfilled, with work carried out through outsourced workers. Similarly, 21 posts of cleaners are vacant, while the sanctioned strength is 23.
Out of the 63 sanctioned driver positions, 60 are vacant, and all 15 posts of plumbers are unfilled. Additionally, 79 out of the sanctioned 99 valvemen positions are vacant, and 89 out of 90 sanctioned loader positions are also unfilled in the city corporation.
Mayor Sudheer Shetty Kannur emphasized that Mangaluru city is growing fast, and the sanctioned posts in various cadres are lying vacant in the district. The Mayor appealed to Minister for Urban Development Byrathi Suresh to expedite the filling of these vacancies.
As the MCC prepares to undertake door-to-door waste collection and transportation independently, filling vacancies becomes crucial for effective waste management. Due to a shortage of health inspectors, the Mayor urged the government to approve the appointment of junior health inspectors on an outsourced basis or take immediate steps to fill the vacancies.
During a review meeting on Friday, Minister Byrathi Suresh promised to take steps to fill the vacancies at the earliest.