Staff shortage cripples administration in Kaduthuruthy panchayat, alleges UDF

Kaduthuruthy: With the Kaduthuruthy panchayat reeling under a severe staff shortage and the prolonged absence of its Secretary, the United Democratic Front (UDF) has alleged that the local body is in a state of administrative paralysis.

The panchayat secretary has been on leave for the past two months, while the Assistant Secretary who was holding charge has also gone on medical leave. Among the four sanctioned senior clerk posts, only one is currently occupied. One position has remained vacant since November last year following a suspension of the official and another clerk in charge of the building section has been on extended leave for three months. The senior clerk overseeing plan projects was recently promoted and transferred. As it stands, the office is functioning with just one senior clerk and one junior clerk.

The UDF, currently in opposition in the local body, claims that the shortage of staff has severely disrupted key functions such as issuing licenses, executing building construction works and implementing development projects. According to  Nobi Mundakkal, UDF Parliamentary Party Leader of the local body, the day-to-day functioning of the panchayat has gone completely off track. “The limited staff available are overburdened with a range of duties including voter list revisions, preparations for the upcoming local body elections, online and offline meetings, handling public grievances, drafting inquiry reports and managing waste disposal,” he said.

Though the vacancies were reported several months ago, no new appointments have been made. According to officials, the delay is due to the hold-up in the general transfer process of government employees.

K-SMART hits roadblocks
Further compounding the crisis is the panchayat’s transition from the ILGMS system to the new K-SMART software in April. The rollout has been problematic as the new system was introduced without ensuring adequate infrastructure or training for staff. Even employees at Akshaya Centres have not received sufficient orientation on using the platform, leading to further delays in public service delivery.

The UDF parliamentary party has warned of launching public protests if the ruling council fails to resolve the crisis in a time-bound manner. UDF ward members Nobi Mundakkal, Stephen Paraveli, C N Manoharan, N V Tomy Nirappel, Jaison Kurien, Sunitha Kumari, and Lailamma Mullakkara addressed the gathering.