‘Atmosphere of adhocism': HC raps state on temporary staff at GNIDA

Time of India

28-04-2025

Noida:
Allahabad high court
has criticised UP govt for allowing an "atmosphere of
adhocism
" to persist in Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority (
GNIDA
), directing "immediate corrective action".
While hearing a special appeal filed by GNIDA on Sept 24 — challenging last year's order directing it to consider re-hiring five long-serving contractual employees — the division bench of justices Ashwani Kumar Mishra and Praveen Kumar Giri said on April 24 that "govt bodies cannot evade accountability through procedural technicalities".
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The court expressed concern over the continued reliance on outsourced staff at GNIDA, despite the creation of a dedicated employee cadre seven years ago.
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According to the Authority's data, 1,753 employees are outsourced basis. Key departments, such as civil and planning, have 171 vacant positions that remained unfilled for an extended period.
The GNIDA data says a total of 372 posts have been sanctioned across various departments, including engineering services (civil), planning, administration/general, finance and accounts, garden, law, computer, private staff, land, technical and health, among others. However, only 201 workers are employed in these roles. Additionally, 29 officers and employees are serving on deputations. The matter has been listed among the top 10 urgent cases for further hearing on May 7.
The object of establishing an industrial area for the development of industries and other amenities cannot be successfully achieved "by the adhocism practised so far", the court said. "We fail to understand how the state proposes to carry out the responsibility of the Industrial Area Authority without appointing persons on a substantive basis. The Authority seems content with just sending requisitions to Subordinate Service Public Services Commission without any actual recruitment being made during the last seven years," the bench observed.
Taking a stern view, the HC bench directed the additional chief secretary, department of industrial development, to file a personal affidavit explaining how such ad hoc practices were allowed to persist for so long and specifying the steps proposed to remedy the situation.
The case stems from a special appeal filed by GNIDA against a single-bench judgment delivered in May 2024, in which the Authority's labour practices had come under scrutiny. In that earlier case, a bench of Justice JJ Munir sharply criticised GNIDA for terminating five contractual employees — Om Veer and four others — in Jan 2023, who served the Authority continuously for periods ranging from 10 to 23 years. Calling GNIDA's actions "unreasonable, arbitrary and discriminatory," Justice Munir has observed earlier, "Greater Noida, being an establishment of the state, ought not to pick and choose, throwing out able and experienced hands and replacing them with fresh hands for no ostensible reasons."
According to the petitioners, they are holders of diplomas in civil engineering and were engaged on different dates as technical supervisors by the Authority. Over the years, their designations were updated and they were subsequently referred to as assistant managers. The petitioners told the HC that in compliance with a govt order issued in Aug 2020, which stated that there would be hiring of manpower through outsourcing, a website developed by the central govt would have to be utilised.