New Delhi: The Delhi Development Authority (DDA), which is the main landowning agency in the capital and responsible for implementation of key central government schemes, is facing an acute staff crunch, with 77.5 percent of sanctioned posts lying vacant, the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs told the Rajya Sabha Monday.
Of the sanctioned strength of 12,932 posts (in various groups) in the DDA, 10,030 posts were lying vacant as of 30 October, Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs Tokhan Sahu said in a written response to a question by Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader and Rajya Sabha MP from Kerala V. Sivadasan.
While the DDA is among the worst affected of all the 20 government organisations, autonomous bodies and public sector undertakings under the housing ministry, others are also short-staffed.
For instance, the Central Public Works Department (CPWD), the Centre’s construction arm, which is tasked with several key development projects, including the Modi government’s ambitious Central Vista Redevelopment Project, had around 27 percent (2,671 out of 9,703) sanctioned posts lying vacant as of 30 October.
The DDA is responsible for preparing the Master Plan of Delhi-2041 (MPD) and all development control norms, as well as for development of housing and commercial units in Delhi.
It is also implementing key central government initiatives such as Pradhan Mantri-Unauthorised Colonies in Delhi Awas Yojana (PM-UDAY) to give ownership rights to people living in 1,731 unauthorised colonies. A few years ago, it was tasked with redevelopment of close to 400 slums located on central government land in Delhi.
The agency has been working with a skeleton staff for the past few years and hired consultants for regular work, according to DDA officials.
The DDA has not undertaken any major recruitment drive as the Centre is planning a major organisational overhaul to reduce the workforce, senior DDA officials said.
“A proposal for restructuring of the DDA was sent to the ministry a few years ago. A decision to fill vacant posts will be taken after the ministry finalises the restructuring plan,” a DDA official told ThePrint.
ThePrint has reached the DDA via text message for a comment on the staff crunch and why the authority was not hiring people. This report will be updated if and when a response is received.
‘We can’t fill all vacant posts’
The restructuring of the DDA has been in the works for over a decade now.
The proposal was first mooted in 2014 when the DDA engaged the National Productivity Council to plan for optimal utilisation of staff and recommend changes.
In 2021, the DDA submitted a proposal to the ministry in this regard, according to DDA officials.
“As the restructuring proposal is under consideration of the ministry, we can’t fill all the vacant posts. We have hired consultants to implement the schemes and other regular works,” said a senior DDA official.
The number of vacant posts in DDA has increased to 10,030 in 2024 from 9,013 in 2019 according to the ministry’s response. Though the authority has hired 4,209 officials for different posts in the past five years, the number of vacancies has increased due to the retirement of several DDA officials. In this financial year, the DDA recruited just 12 personnel.
Members of DDA employees’ associations say the acute shortage of staff is hampering the functioning of the body.
Param Yadav, president of the All DDA Engineers Association, told ThePrint: “Today, one executive engineer is handling three work divisions; this is hampering the functioning of the DDA. Instead of filling vacant posts, they are hiring consultants, which is not serving any purpose as they can’t be held accountable.”
Crunch elsewhere too
In other government agencies under the housing ministry, vacant posts are a serious concern, with the figure varying from 10 percent to 50 percent.
In the CPWD, which is carrying out mega infrastructure projects despite being short-staffed, 27 percent of sanctioned posts are vacant.
The agency is not only involved in the Rs 20,000-crore Central Vista Redevelopment Project, but is also redeveloping four of seven government housing colonies under the Rs 35,000-crore seven General Pool Residential Accommodation (7GPRA) redevelopment project in Delhi, as well as housing for MPs, among other projects.
Though the agency has been hiring officials for posts, it has been unable to reduce the number of vacancies, which have only increased from 2,133 in 2019 to 2,671 in 2024, according to the data given out Monday.
Similarly, the National Institute of Urban Affairs, the ministry’s think tank working on key initiatives and missions, has 33 of 43 sanctioned posts vacant.
The number of vacant posts has increased from 18 to 33 since 2019—sanctioned posts were reduced to 43 in 2023 from 45 in 2019 —but no recruitment has been made.
The Land and Development Office, which is responsible for government land and properties on it in Delhi, has 54 of 125 posts lying vacant. There has been no recruitment in the past five years, according to the response in the Rajya Sabha.
The Housing and Urban Development Corporation under the ministry has 312 of 894 sanctioned posts lying vacant.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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