The five-year long wait for city managers seems to be nearing its end, as Chief Minister Raghubar Das gave his nod to their appointment on Friday.
A total of 100 city managers are to be appointed for managing, supervising, scrutinising and helping to strengthen the Municipal Corporations in any way possible. They will look after the implementation of public welfare projects, including the Centre’s ambitious Smart City initiative and AMRUT scheme.
The original proposal for hiring city managers was approved by the Shibu Soren cabinet in 2010 and had provisions for recruiting 42 city managers. This number was increased to 100 by the State Urban Development Department in the new proposal which was approved by the CM.
“The applications for the post of city managers have started to flow in and their recruitment process will begin shortly. We are planning to complete the entire process – examination, training and appointment – by September. The entire roster of city managers will begin working by the end of September,” stated Urban Development Director Shashi Ranjan Prasad Singh.
Applications were invited from interested professionals with degrees in MBA and PGDM. Willing candidates can submit their applications till Monday. The examinations for selecting suitable candidates out of the applicants for the office of city managers will be held on September 13, followed by training sessions for those who clear the examinations.
The selected city managers will be appointed in urban authorities across the state. They will be responsible for ensuring effective implementation of welfare projects being run in the state by State and Union Governments.
Their role becomes more critical given the fact that the Union Government is coming up with schemes like Smart Cities and AMRUT projects which depend on optimum functioning of urban bodies for their effective implementation.