Many dredgers belonging to the Dredging Corporation of India (DCI), a public sector undertaking based here, are non-operational. Additionally, the DCI is also unable to recover payments due to it from clients such as Sethusamudram Corporation Ltd, Kolkata Port and others, alleges the Non-Executive Employees' Union, affiliated to the CITU.

The recognised union made the allegation in a petition submitted to the Parliamentary Committee on Assurances which visited the DCI as part of its Visakhapatnam tour. Mr G. Raja Rao, the Union President, said in the petition that the DCI had not been able to meet its operational and financial targets year after year and yet the management was taking no corrective steps. Corruption was also rampant in the DCI, he alleged.

He said the DCI, once a profit-making PSU, was on the verge of a financial crisis and was in no position to take on the private dredging companies. Employees, especially non-executives, were suffering a lot due to the indifferent attitude of the management.

He said the employees had not been paid productivity-linked incentive bonus for the past three years. Regarding promotions and recruitments, there were many issues and grievances which the management was not addressing. The higher level posts should be filled up without any favouritism or bias for the better functioning of the DCI, he pleaded.

He said the recruitment policy and procedures should be streamlined and immediate steps taken to improve the operational efficiency of the DCI.

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