Staff Reporter
Guwahati: It is a million-dollar question as to how an important agency of the Centre like the Brahmaputra Board can carry out its designated mission without adequate personnel. A total of 230 posts have been vacant for a long time, more than half of its sanctioned staff strength. Most posts are filled on a deputation basis.
According to sources at the Board, the total sanctioned strength of the Board is 415, of which 230 posts in different categories are currently vacant. There are 80 Group A posts, but 40 of these are vacant. Of the 40 posts, 14 are direct recruitment posts. In Group B, the total strength of sanctioned posts is 148, of which 72 are still vacant. Interestingly, 114 of these are direct recruitment posts. The total strength of Group C staff is 187, with 118 of these lying vacant at present. Notably, 153 of the posts are to be filled through direct recruitment.
From the above, it can be concluded that 281 of the 415 total sanctioned manpower on the Board are to be filled through direct recruitment. The rest of the 134 posts are to be filled on a deputation basis. But people from outside the state are loath to serve in Assam, despite the fact that most of them are important posts requiring engineers and technical personnel.
Sources at the Board said that the following deputation-basis posts are vacant: Deputy Chief Engineer posts: 3; Superintending Engineer posts: 5; Executive Engineer: 15 posts; Senior Accounts Officer: 1 post; Accounts Officer: 2 posts; Section Officer: 2 posts; Private Secretary: 4 posts; Divisional Accountant: 5 posts; Ministerial Assistant: 11 posts; and Upper Division: 17 posts.
It was revealed that the Ministry of Jal Shakti has already published a vacancy circular inviting applications from employees of various departments experienced in similar work on a deputation basis. The process will be completed by July. The process to fill the posts through direct recruitment is also underway, the sources said.
It should be mentioned here that the Brahmaputra Board was formed in 1982. Its stated mission is "Regulation and development of inter-state Brahmaputra and Barak River Valley by planning and such other measures so as to achieve development and utilization of water resources of Brahmaputra."
The Vision of the Board is "Integrated Management of Flood and River Basins of Interstate and International Rivers of the NE Region by Involving expertise of domain experts, State-of-the-Art Knowledge and Technology, working closely with State Governments and other Stakeholders."
The Brahmaputra Board covers the eight NE states, including the northern part of West Bengal that falls within the Brahmaputra Basin.
The Brahmaputra Board says it is involved in "Planning and integrated implementation of measures for the control of flood and bank erosion in Brahmaputra and Barak valleys and for matters connected therewith." The Board's failure, in its more than 40 years of existence, to control the annual floods that ravage the state has turned it into a white elephant.
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