GHMC allegedly suppressing the qualification of its 'engineers'

Hyderabad: It has been alleged that the GHMC is suppressing the qualification of its engineers. Several officers who had joined MCH as technicians, have been promoted as engineers though they were not qualified.

In 2013, the municipal body, through an RTI query, was asked to provide the qualifications of all (town planning and structural) engineers.

However, only the number of engineers was provided and not their qualifications. In December 2013, the RTI commission ordered GHMC to furnish all the details, but the full information has not been provided till date. Though it is a rule that an engineer should inspect several construction sites for approval, it is these technicians who do the job.

Mohammad Asad, who filed the RTI, said, “I had asked for the details regarding the qualifications of the individuals . Whether he or she had passed the departmental test, if they had the required qualifications and the name of universities they passed out of. But nothing has been provided till date. There have been very few recruitments in the town planning department in the last two decades, because the lower grade officials with years of experience are being promoted as section officers.”

Many heritage buildings have been knocked down by the GHMC since the structural engineers certified them as weak, and the option of restoring them wasn’t considered.

O.M. Debra, who has been protesting against illegal constructions said, “GHMC, for a long time has been saying that it lacks staff to inspect authorised constructions. It has time to collect mamool. People who joined the MCH were promoted when Greater Hyderabad was formed based on seniority. But they did not have any qualification. It is extremely important for a section officer to be qualified because sanctioning of drawings of earthquake-protected buildings, inspection for deviation and illegal constructions lie in their hands.”

Several heritage buildings like Mount Heritage structure at Park Lane and Banjara Bhavan were certified as dilapidated even though they could be restored. There are many 100-year plus buildings that are still standing strong.