Rs 320 crore sanctioned for new office buildings of Chief Engineers
Hyderabad: The State government on Tuesday issued orders for reorganising the administrative structure of the Irrigation department with creation of 945 additional posts in different categories as per the directions of Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao. Further, the government also sanctioned Rs 320 crore for construction of new buildings for the newly created territorial offices of 19 Chief Engineers.
As per the orders, 19 territorial jurisdictions will be headed by Chief Engineers (CEs) with three Engineers-in-Chief (ENCs) supervising the overall operations. While three ENCs will head the divisions of general, administration, and also operation and maintenance, three CEs will be stationed in the State headquarters at Hyderabad. The fresh orders will come into force with effect from January 1.
The financial powers of the officials have also been enhanced for effective operation and maintenance as well as emergency works. Subsequently, officials of the ranks of ENCs to lower cadres have been empowered to sanction works ranging from Rs 1 crore to Rs 2 lakh, depending on the official’s rank. An annual budgetory allocation of Rs 280 crore has been made for the purpose.
The government sanctioned Rs 320 crore for construction of permanent offices for 11 CEs (offices of 8 CEs are already existing) and 20 superintending engineers along with residential quarters, vehicles and other requirements. About Rs 2.2 crore per annum has been sanctioned for establishment of temporary offices including furniture. Further, the creation of 945 additional posts will cause an additional annual expenditure of Rs 60 crore for the State government towards salaries and other operational expenditure. Permissions have been sanctioned for filling required staff in the newly created offices in a phased manner as per the requirement.