Even because the appointment to 6 senior positions in Ahmedabad Hearth and Emergency Providers (AFES), together with the Chief Hearth Officer (CFO), had been introduced by the federal government Monday, 9 of high 19 posts proceed to stay vacant and with lower than a fortnight left, the work round Diwali is barely going so as to add to the burden.
The six names had been ratified by way of official orders three days after the Workers Choice and Appointments Committee of the Ahmedabad Municipal Company (AMC) made these appointments on October 18.
Aside from the vacant spots, questions relating to the becoming a member of of latest officers attributable to prior commitments and the interim management of the AFES throughout this important interval additionally stay unanswered. Deputy Municipal Commissioner Arjav Shah, nevertheless, stated these questions are prone to be “sorted out shortly”.
The AMC on Monday, issued 4 orders for the six posts, together with the Chief Hearth Officer (CFO), one Extra CFO appointed by way of choice, two Extra CFOs by way of promotion, and that of two Deputy CFOs.
In line with the federal government orders, Amit Dongre has been appointed CFO of Ahmedabad Metropolis, Mihir Rana has been appointed Extra CFO by way of choice. Two longtime officers of the AFES, Mithun Mistry and Jayesh Khadia, had been promoted to the newly-created posts of Extra CFOs. Hiren Chaudhari and Dhrumit Gandhi had been appointed Deputy CFOs. Because the AMC had created and sanctioned 37 extra posts for the Hearth Prevention Wing, a number of posts proceed to stay vacant.
Despite the fact that the CFO publish has been crammed, Dongre is unlikely to hitch obligation earlier than Diwali, stated sources within the AMC.Extra CFO Jayesh Khadia, who has been interim/performing/in-charge CFO of Ahmedabad since February 2022, confirmed he presently retains cost of the hearth service.
When it comes to Extra CFO posts, all three vacancies have been crammed. There have been 4 posts of Deputy CFOs and three extra had been sanctioned, bringing the entire to seven. Whereas two had been vacated by promotions of Mistry and Khadia and two had been crammed by appointments of Chaudhari and Gandhi, 5 posts are nonetheless vacant.The posts of Divisional Officers (DOs) had been doubled from 4 to eight.
Notably, the providers of three incumbent DOs who’re embroiled in civil litigation, had been “terminated” by the AMC however they’re persevering with with their service attributable to a keep order from the Gujarat HC. Since one DO is already in service, as of now, 4 DO posts are vacant.
Diwali and rise in fireplace incidents
Final yr, between November 10 and 14, the AFES handled 307 fireplace and rescue calls. On Diwali day, firefighters attended the very best variety of calls — 136.
Additional, the jurisdiction of the AFES was drastically elevated to cowl the expanded city agglomeration of Ahmedabad that has grown to greater than 503 sq km in space after surrounding villages had been subsumed into the AMC in June 2020. This has made it the biggest metropolis in Gujarat.
The Vanch village in Daskroi, located on the acute outskirts of Ahmedabad, that’s dwelling to about 42 small and massive firecracker manufacturing items, additionally falls below the Ahmedabad City Improvement Authority and thus below the accountability of the AFES.
