Himanta hands over appointment letters to urban technical officers

Guwahati, Dec 18 (PTI) Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday handed over appointment letters to 43 Urban Technical Officers under the state Housing and Urban Affairs Department.

The appointment letters were given to 16 recruited as mechanical engineers, 11 as electrical engineers, eight as public health engineers, six as environmental engineers and two as civil engineers, officials said.

The total recruitments made by the present state government have increased to 1,42,029 with Thursday's appointment, they said.

Speaking on the occasion, the chief minister said that there was a time when the state had an acute shortage of technical employees in urban local bodies.

Sarma said that with urbanisation, many challenges have emerged—ranging from urban solid waste management and drainage systems to housing planning and fire safety facilities.

Referring to financial management in urban administration, the CM said that it has become a complex process with streamlining property tax and related matters becoming a major responsibility.

Highlighting steps taken in this direction, he said that through GIS-based property mapping, digital self-assessment and transparent accounting, municipal revenue has increased by over 30 per cent. Measures such as QR code-based payments, SMS alerts and tax collection through self-help groups have brought greater transparency to municipal administration.

A fully digital administrative system has also been established at the directorate level and efforts are being made to deliver citizen services through a Unified Municipal Portal, he said.

The chief minister said that as per the Constitution, urban local bodies and panchayati raj institutions are considered the third tier of governance, after the central and state governments.

The state government does not directly interfere in their administration; rather, it encourages them towards good governance and provides necessary support, he added.

Sarma pointed out that officers appointed by the state government work in urban local bodies as representatives of the government and are accountable both to the state government and to the concerned municipal bodies.

He advised the newly appointed engineers to work in a manner that municipal bodies view them as assets rather than burdens, and called upon everyone to play a positive role in implementing government plans and programmes in cooperation with urban local bodies. PTI DG NN