The Erode Corporation office that is facing staff shortage
| Photo Credit: M. Govarthan
The absence of a Commissioner for the past four months and high vacancy rates across key departments have severely impacted the functioning of Erode Corporation, leaving the existing staff overburdened and leading to delay in services.N. Manish, who served as Commissioner was replaced by H.S. Srikanth during the Erode (East) Assembly by-election in January 2025. However, Srikanth’s tenure lasted less than a month. Since his transfer, the Commissioner post has remained vacant since March. At present, the Deputy Commissioner holds additional charge.According to the Corporation’s staff position dated May 27, 2025, there are 172 sanctioned permanent posts of which 73 positions remain vacant. Among the two sanctioned Deputy Commissioner posts, one remains unfilled. Of the four Assistant Commissioner posts, two are vacant. Other vacancies include two administrative officers, one superintendent, all the four assistant revenue officers, five assistants and three personal clerks.The health department is among the most hit. Both the posts of sanitary officer and entomologist are vacant. Of the 20 sanctioned sanitary inspector positions (five per zone), only nine remain filled, leaving 11 posts vacant. In the engineering section, all three Deputy City Engineer posts are vacant. Other vacancies include, two Assistant City Engineers, one Assistant Engineer, three draughtsmen and 19 technical assistants.The town planning section is also severely understaffed, with the lone City Planner post and all 12 Planning Inspector posts remaining vacant.Speaking on condition of anonymity, a staff of the civic body told The Hindu that nearly 42% of sanctioned posts are vacant across departments. “Vacancies in core departments like health, town planning and administration are hampering daily operations. The burden on existing staff is enormous, and service delivery and decision-making are significantly getting delayed,” the staffer said.The Erode Corporation currently covers 60 wards across four zones, spanning 109.52 sq. km. On December 31, 2024, Tamil Nadu government announced the merger of four village panchayats — Kadirampatti, Mettunasuvampalayam, 46 Pudur and Lakkapuram—with the Corporation. Once completed, the merger is expected to add at least 10 new wards, expanding the total area to 138.98 sq. km. Corporation staff have urged the government not only to fill existing vacancies but also to increase the sanctioned strength in view of the expansion.A senior source in the Corporation said that the State government is in the process of appointing a new Commissioner, and that vacant posts across departments are expected to be filled soon. Published - June 16, 2025 03:10 pm IST
