Maha Only 2 posts of special cell for road safety filled in 2 yrs

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    Mumbai, Jan 20 (PTI) Two years after a special cell
for road safety was created in Maharashtra under the transport
commissioner office, 14 out of its total 16 posts are still
lying vacant, officials have said.
    State Transport Minister Anil Parab, however,
attributed this delay to the coronavirus pandemic.
    Maharashtra is one of the worst-hit states in terms of
road accidents. In 2020, the state had witnessed 25,456 road
accidents and 11,452 fatalities.
    Officials in the Maharashtra Motor Vehicles Department
said that acting on the Supreme Court's directive, the state
government had set up the lead agency (special cell) for road
safety in December 2018 to handle the state-wide road safety-
related activities and created 16 new posts, including a joint
transport commissioner (Road Safety) for it.
    Of these, five posts are supposed to be filled on
deputation, whereas the remaining supervisory and clerical
posts were on contractual basis, the officials said.
    The five posts of the officers that should be filled
through deputation are- joint transport commissioner, deputy
transport commissioner, assistant commissioner of police,
executive engineer (PWD) and public relations officer.
    A senior official said that so far, only two of these
posts- that of assistant commissioner of police and executive
engineer- have been filled, while the remaining three posts
are lying vacant.
    "The additional charge of the remaining three vacant
posts were given to other officers of the transport
commissioner office, who were already under burden of
additional charge of some other posts," he said.
    Another officer said that 11 other posts that have to
be filled on contract basis are also lying vacant and some RTO
inspectors and clerks from the transport commissioner office
were given the responsibility of these posts.
    A retired officer said that the transport commissioner
office is trying to appoint a senior consultant for road
safety on contract basis even as the regular posts created for
the lead agency are lying vacant.
    An advertisement for the post was issued in October
2020.
    "What this senior consultant is going to do when the
required posts of officers and staffers of the lead agency are
vacant? Whom will he give advice?" he asked.
    When asked about the vacant posts of the lead agency,
minister Parab said the last one year got "wasted" due to
coronavirus pandemic, due to which the posts kept lying
vacant.
    "I would like to assure that the cell (lead agency)
will work with full force this year," he said. PTI KK
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(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)