MAPUSA
The government faced intense scrutiny from the opposition on Wednesday regarding significant delays in executing work proposals within the Department of Rural Development, attributing the holdups to severe staff shortages.
During the Question Hour, Goa Revolutionary Party MLA Viresh Borkar highlighted that approximately 342 proposals were pending within the District Rural Development Agency (DRDA) due to inadequate staffing. He pointed out that the sole Executive Engineer in the department was juggling responsibilities for five other departments, holding the RDA as an additional charge. Additionally, only one Assistant Engineer was present despite a sanctioned strength of two, and there was just one Junior Engineer instead of the approved three.
“With such skeletal staff in the Department of Rural Development, how will our works get completed?” Borkar questioned.
Minister for Rural Development Govind Gaude acknowledged the staff shortages but asserted that the department was still managing its operations despite the constraints. “The reason for the delay in work is due to lack of staff, as one Junior Engineer is in DRDA-North and two other technical staff “ Executive Engineer and Assistant Engineer “ are on additional charge,” Gaude stated in a written reply.
Gaude informed the House that despite the limitations, he had instructed the staff to prioritise two proposals from each MLA. BJP MLA Nilesh Cabral suggested utilising available central funds for development projects, noting that a playground in his constituency had been pending for four years. In response, Gaude clarified that the relevant central government scheme had been discontinued, but assured efforts to secure additional funds, including supplementary allocations, were underway.
Leader of Opposition Yuri Alemao acknowledged the minister’s candid admission of staff-related delays and inquired about plans to fill the vacant posts. Gaude responded that a proposal had been submitted to the Goa Staff Selection Commission outlining the staffing requirements.
CM Pramod Sawant intervened, assuring that another engineer would be assigned to the RDA and that vacancies would be advertised through the Staff Selection Commission. “We have recently appointed new engineers in the PWD. We will send one engineer to rural development. We will fast track the filling of other vacancies in the department,” he promised.
