Job loss fear grips Corpn employees

Published Date: 18-July-2009
G Saravanan

Chennai, July 17: A SENSE of job insecurity is gripping the 28,000 corporation staff, as the civic body proposes to do away with over 500 different posts from its various departments including health,family welfare, mechanical and revenue as part of its drive for administrative reforms to reduce its financial burden.

According to a leaked dossier on the civic body’s proposed administrative reforms, the corporation is likely to abolish most of the posts from the mechanical, health, family welfare, bus route roads, Council, education, parks, revenue, solid waste management and storm water drain (SWD) departments. Atleast 1500 employees may lose their jobs or promotions in this drive.

Though these employees would not be asked to leave the Corporation, they might be forced to accept new posts and follow systems of work. A union leader, who requested anonymity, said: “Unable to create more avenues of revenue generation in the civic body, higher officials are now attempting to reduce the workforce under the guise of administrative reforms in an attempt to lessen the financial burden.”

According to information available with Express, many of the posts in the corporation have just remained in the list of ‘sanctioned posts’ for years and not been filled yet.

This has increased work pressure on the available staff, who are forced to to collect and compile details for several free schemes, which include free CTV, flood relief, marriage assistance, maternity assistance, election duty, and population census besides their regular work at office.

For example, of the 116 sanctioned posts in the mechanical department, the civic body proposes to kill 102 posts which includes assistant engineer, junior engineer, head motor mechanic, cleaner, carpenter, petrol bunk operator and watchman. The ironical part is that most of the posts in mechanical department were not filled upto the sanctioned strength yet.

Likewise, the Corporation has a labour welfare officer post, but it has been lying vacant for the past 23 years.“Our officials are setting a wrong precedence in the civic body and it will lead to nowhere,” another union leader remarked.

Tension is brewing among employees as the corporation’s ‘Appointment Committee’ led by the mayor M.Subramanian discussed administrative reforms issues along with senior officials a few days ago and the mayor reportedly gave a green signal to the proposal.

Irked by the development, a section of employees affiliated to the ruling DMK’s Labour Progressive Front met the mayor on Friday and handed over a memorandum appealing him to turn down the proposal to safeguard employees’ interest. The mayor confirmed to Express that he had received such an appeal from the corporation’s employees. He assured them of re-consideration with respect to several important posts.

English medium classes soon

Published Date: 18-July-2009

G Saravanan

Chennai, July 17: IN a paradigm shift from the State’s ‘Tamil-only policy’ in elementary education, the 320-year-old Chennai Corporation is all set to start English medium classes in its 25 primary and middle schools spread across its 10 zones from August 1.

A resolution regarding the introduction of English medium classes is expected to be taken up for discussion at the Chennai Corporation’s Council Meeting slated for July 22 at Ripon Building. Here is how the system will work: Student intake for the 25 English medium schools will happen only for Class I.

Students in all the other classes will continue to stay with Tamil medium. Over the years, the entire school would turn into English medium. According to sources, the civic body’s aim to start English medium classes would not dilute its stance on giving due importance to Tamil (for elementary education).

Three schools each from the corporation’s 10 zones have been identified for the new medium of education, but only 25 were found fit for starting English medium classes, a senior official with the Corporation told Express. Since the selected schools have kindergarten classes (LKG and UKG), intake for the first standard English medium (on day one) would not be a big problem, the official said.

According to sources, 2,500 students would be enrolled in these 25 schools in the current academic year. The civic body has sought the help of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) for supplying English language- based Activity Based Learning (ABL) cards for the students.

The civic body had recently come under severe criticism for closing down and merging its 30 schools under a restructuring programme. The soon-to-be introduced English medium classes would also come under the State Board like its Tamil medium counterparts.

SL Red Cross creates hurdles

Published Date: 16-JULY-2009

G Saravanan

Chennai, July 15: FATE of the 27 container loads of essential humanitarian relief items, sent by Tamils living in Europe for the three lakh Lankan Tamil civilians in the Vanni area of Northern Sri Lanka, hangs in balance as the Sri Lankan Red Cross Society (SLRCS) demanded SL Rs 76 lakhs for the entire distribution process.

These containers of relief materials landed at Colombo Port on last Thursday, but are still lying uncleared there. Uncertainty looms large over distribution to the needy Tamil civilians, who were displaced by the war and now living in the government-run ‘camps’.

According to G Subramanian, executive director of Manitham, a Chennaibased human rights organisation and the local representative for Vanni Mercy Mission, United Kingdom, said, “S H Nimal Kumar, honorary national secretary of SLRCS through Indian Red Cross Society has sent a letter to Mercy Mission organisers to remit SL Rs 76 lakh immediately to carry out the distribution of relief materials to the poor people of Sri Lanka.”

“Though the relief materials are destined for the internally displaced Tamil people (IDP) living in camps, I do not understand why the Lankan Red Cross registers the beneficiaries are ‘poor people of Sri Lanka’ instead of Tamil IDPs in particular, he wondered. The relief cargo was earlier sent through Mercy Mission Ship M V Captain Ali from Europe.

As the Lankan government turned away the ship, Mercy Mission organisers were forced to change the cargo at Chennai Port and loaded the 884 tonnes of cargo into 27 containers. They were sent to Colombo through another ship MV Cap Colorado which landed at Lankan port on last Thursday.

“We do not see any difference between money-minded commercial agents and the Lankan Red Cross, as they demand hefty money for distributing relief goods sent from another country on humanitarian basis,” Subramanian added. Going by the indications in Lankan government, the relief goods are unlikely to end up in the hands of destined Tamil people living in several government- run camps as they started using every available tactics to delay the process, an expatriate Lankan Tamil living in London told Express via e-mail.

Handling of dusty cargoes to stay, for now: Chennai Port Trust chairman

Published Date: 16-July-2009

G Saravanan

Chennai, July 15: IN a significant departure from his predecessor’s revenue plans, the new chairman of Chennai Port Trust Capt Subhash Kumar has said that the port will continue handling of iron ore and coal cargoes as shifting it to neighbouring Ennore Port would affect the port’s sustained revenue in coming years.

In an exclusive interview to The New Indian Express after taking over the chairmanship of the 126-year-old Chennai Port, Capt Subhash Kumar said: “Moving such cargoes would only help the port to attain the ‘Clean Port in India’ tag, but compensating the revenue losses due to such shift would be very difficult and it would have an adverse impact on the port’s future development plans.”

The previous Chairman K Suresh had on several occasions said that handling of such cargoes would be reduced gradually and shifted to the adjacent Ennore Port by 2013. Prior to the elevation for the coveted post, Capt Kumar has been the Deputy Chairman of ChPT since November 2008.

He has worked with Cochin Port Trust, the Shipping Corporation of India Ltd, New Mangalore Port Trust and the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust, and boasts in-depth knowledge about the sector.While not completely ruling out shifting dusty cargoes to Ennore Port in near future, Capt. Kumar said, “Our immediate and main focus is to develop the South India’s prime port as a Hub Port for container traffic to the ports situated in east coast of America and Far East.

If the port trust feel the areas now used for handling dusty cargoes area really needed for container-related expansion, we would certainly think about shifting those cargoes.” However, the proposed shifting is unlikely to happen by 2013, since economic recession has affected the port’s revenue and we do not want to lose the existing stream of revenue, Capt Kumar noted.

When his attention was drawn towards the pollution and environmental issues due to continuous handling of dusty cargoes, Capt Kumar said: “From the first day onwards as chairman here, I introduced several drastic measures to reduce pollution inside the port and as a result, it has been reduced to a certain level.”The port has water sprinkler systems to reduce dust pollution near the dumping yards, but the method of releasing just waters was not that effective.

Capt Kumar introduced slightly modified sprinklers where the system would spray moistures in the air and with the help of it, coal and iron ore dusts would be made to ground, hence the whole area will look clean. About existing trailer traffic congestion, Capt. Kumar said, “Any port expansion plan, including the envisaged major Hub Port will be meaningless until we assure better road and rail connectivity up to the berths of the port.” “The road connectivity today is pathetic.

If mega road connectivity projects like Ennore Manali Road Improvement Project and the four-lane elevated expressway from Chennai Port to Maduravoyal are not completed on warfooting, the port would tend to lose its existing business,” he added. Besides, he also plans to introduce several administrative changes in the port.

Assaulted by SI, Home Guards couple sacked

Published Date: 15-July-2009

G Saravanan

Chennai, July 14: A Home Guards couple, who had been thrashed by a sub inspector (SI) attached to D1-Triplicane police station in full public view last May, have been sacking on grounds of ‘indiscipline’.Commissioner of Police T Rajendran, who signed the order a few days ago, said the action was based on enquiry report submitted by the Assistant Commissioner of Police of Triplicane police station.

Home Guards Sashikumar and his pregnant wife Reena, residents of ICF Colony, were allegedly thrashed by an SI for objecting to an obscene remark made by the owner of a restaurant on Anna Salai where they were waiting for delivery of food packets they had ordered. “We have been victimised for speaking out about the ordeal,” Sashikumar and Reena told Express.

Both of them were appointed as Home Guards in 2006. While Sashikumar was assigned to the K3-Aminjikarai police station, Reena was working with the F1-Chindadripet police station. The incident happened late in the evening last May, when they were (in uniform) waiting at Sangam Hotel, near Devi Theatre complex, after ordering food parcels. The shop owner allegedly teased Sashikumar’s wife and made offensive remarks.

When Sashikumar objected to it, the restaurant owner called the D1 police station and claimed that the couple was causing nuisance at his hotel. When the SI Kumar reached the spot, he thrashing both husband and wife in front the public for an hour without enquiring about the sequence of events, and later dragged Sashikumar to the police station. Sashi was ‘released’ by Kumar around midnight.Immediately after the incident, the Triplicane AC was asked to conduct an enquiry after human rights organisations raised a hue and cry.

Alleging that the AC was biased, Sashikumar said he gave a clean chit to the SI without listening to their genuine grievances. “Ironically, even after the media expose,the AC found my wife Reena and me guilty for the whole episode,” he added. According to sources, consequent to the duo’s sacking, four Home Guards patrol commanders put in their papers and another four Home Guards are contemplating resignation as they fear that the senior officials might target them for being close to Sashikumar.

Corpn employee accused of running a job racket

Published Date: 14-July-2009

G Saravanan

Chennai, July 13: A CHENNAI Corporation staff, working with the Malaria department, has been accused of cheating more than 20 women by promising jobs in the civic body’s sanitary and general departments. The victims, most of them illiterate and hailing from suburban Red Hills, told Express that, Nuguraj, working in the Malaria department in 68th division (Anna Nagar East — Zone Five), has cheated them by collecting Rs 50,000 each with a promise of jobs in the Chennai Corporation.

Gajalaksmi, one of the victims and neighbour of Nuguraj, said, “It all started some 18 months ago, when I approached Nuguraj for a job to tide over financial crisis at home as he posed among the locals as an official working in the civic body’s headquarter.” With his luring words of better job in the civic body, Gajalaksmi gave him money(Rs 50,000)but the shock came very recently when she came to know that Nuguraj had cheated her after collecting the cash.

Not only Gajalakshmi, many other women from the same locality (Red Hills) were also cheated by Nuguraj after promising jobs in the civic body. When these women came to know that they lost everything as Nuguraj cheated them with well-laid trap, they planned to approach the civic body’s higher officials to settle the issue.

Sensing that the issue may cost his job, Nuguraj met these women and asked them not to meet any higher officials with complaint against him. He also gave them in writing that their amount could be returned to them very soon. It may be noted that, Nuguraj had openly admitted (in his assurance letter) that he collected the cash from these women for arranging jobs in the Chennai Corporation, but could not do so.

Meanwhile, Nuguraj shifted his family from Red Hills to Periyapalayam, which is further remote place. These affected women filed their complaint with the Corporation Health Officer first and recently they met the civic body’s Commissioner for action against their staff.The Commissioner forwarded the complaint to the civic body’s Vigilance Officer (VO) for further action. When contacted, a senior official in the civic body said that the VO has been asked to probe the matter.

Info panel slaps Rs 25,000 penalty on TNEB official

Published Date: 11-July-2009

G Saravanan

Chennai, July 10: IN a landmark order, the Tamil Nadu Information Commissioner slapped a penalty of Rs 25,000 on the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board’s Public Information Officer (PIO) for deliberately avoiding to furnish details sought by an RTI applicant.

The commission, besides directing the TNEB chairman to recover the penalty amount from the delinquent officer and report the fact to the commission within 15 days, asked the chairman to take severe departmental action against him for violating the RTI Act deliberately and report the details of action taken within 30 days.

In a detailed two-page order, the commission also directed the TNEB chairman to supply the information to the applicant at his residence within 10 days and asked to pay Rs 500 as compensation for the intransigent nonsupply of information by the department. “It’s indeed a landmark order and my sustained effort using the RTI tool brought me the needed relief,” a jubilant R Natarajan, R A Purambased research scholar, told Express.

The petitioner moved an application with TNEB seeking details about irregularities involved in billing electricity consumption to a firm located in North Chennai. Apparently irked over the excess billing, Natarajan moved his first application under RTI in 2007 and asked seven questions about the irregularities in billing system. As his two such applications went unanswered, he was forced to move another one with the RTI commission seeking time-bound direction against TNEB’s attitude.

Acting on his appeal, commission issued a time-bound direction to the TNEB PIO to supply the information sought by Natarajan by March 3, 2009. It also directed the official to appear before the commission if the petitioner was not supplied with the details in the stipulated time. But, TNEB’s official gave scant regard to the commission’s direction and he neither gave a reply nor appeared before the commission to explain the delay. Consequent to the TNEB officials’ lax attitude, Natarajan filed a complaint and the commission summoned the official to present himself before them on June 17.

During the enquiry, the PIO could not explain as to why he had not appeared before the commission as directed and explain why the information was not given.It was also found that the official deliberately avoided giving information by saying that the billing card went untraceable, hence no reply can be made to application. The commission concluded that an open misdemeanour committed by the officials is being sought to be hidden by the refusal to supply information.