The DRDAs are meant to be professional agencies in each district to manage all anti-poverty programmes of the Centre and state governments. These agencies are entrusted with providing necessary executive and technical support to coordinate with different departments, Panchayati Raj institutions, banks and other financial institutions, NGOs as well as technical institutions, ensuring financial discipline and poverty-eradication efforts by governments in each district.

Under the existing arrangement, administrative expenses of DRDAs are shared on a 75:25 ratio between the Centre and state governments. The Union Ministry for Rural Development has outlined an optimal and appropriate staffing structure and personnel policy to make DRDAs effective in implementing anti-poverty programmes in each district.

But new data with the Ministry show some 43 per cent posts are still to be filled in DRDAs across the country. This is just an average, inter-state variations ranging from a high 67 per cent vacancy in Punjab DRDAs to 13 per cent vacancy in Orissa. While 10 states have more than 50 per cent positions vacant, only five states — Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Orissa and Manipur — have less than 30 per cent vacancy in their DRDAs.

Moreover, in DRDAs where higher positions are understaffed, lower positions are overstaffed. And this is true of most across the country. Most states are overstaffed in the supporting staff category, which include drivers and typists, with the national average standing at 133 per cent staffing at Group-D levels. But positions involving decision-making responsibilities under the DRDA administration are hugely understaffed — the national average for Group A vacancies is an alarming 70 per cent.

Ministry officials agree that full administrative efficiency cannot be expected from the DRDAs which lack sufficient staff and manpower to oversee implementation of different programmes. But they say they have to implement all programmes under these constraints.

The Ministry has repeatedly asked state governments to fill these vacant posts to achieve effective implementation of anti-poverty programmes. In fact, the Ministry has even amended its guidelines for DRDAs, allowing state governments to fill DRDA posts by hiring technical professionals on contract basis. But state governments have been slow in making use of the amended guidelines for the benefit of their own people.