Burderned by a rising number of pending cases, including high-profile ones like those related to IPL, CWG, and 2G spectrum, the enforcement directorate (ED) is planning an organisational revamp that would increase its workforce by almost three times. A proposal in this regard has been sent to the finance ministry. The ED, which is the investigating arm of the finance ministry, has also proposed to increase the number of its zonal and sub-zonal offices from the existing 21 to 38.
At present, the agency, which has the mandate to look into violations related to the Foreign Exchange Management Act (Fema) and Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), has over 700 employees, including both Group C and D staff. Of these, about 90 officials, including assistant directors, are responsible for carrying out the actual investigations while the others are involved in administrative work. The agency has proposed an increase in staff to around 2,000 people.
Since the government is planning to introduce further changes in the PMLA that would include several other entities to be covered by the ED, sources said it is important for the agency to be prepared for the increased workload. The agency has zonal offices in cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Lucknow, Kochi and Chandigarh.