Employees of the Central Public Work Department (CPWD) have decided to stage a protest on February 22 against moves towards corporatising the department, saying that such a decision will be against the public interest.
A CPWD official said that employees were "gravely concerned" over media reports that a Group of Secretaries has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to "corporatise" the CPWD on the lines of NBCC (India) Ltd.
The official said that joint front, a forum of CPWD service associations, will hold a mass rally at Nirman Bhavan on February 22 to demand that the proposal to corporatise the CPWD be stopped.
The employees had earlier this month written to Urban Development Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu demanding that the proposal be scrapped and termed it as "irrational, illogical and not supported by proper reasoning".
In its representation to the minister, Central Engineering Service Group 'A' Association said that CPWD officers and staff needs to be duly heard.
They also said that the government's position on the issues raised by it should be put in public domain for a discussion.
Officials said the CPWD had about 35,000 employees and the government had in November last year requested expression of interest for selection of reputed agencies for studying the working of the CPWD.
They said that reports about corporatising the department had come even as study had not been carried out.
The CPWD came into existence in 1854 and functions as premier public works organisation of the government.
--IANS
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