Total ban on State Govt recruitments

Total ban on State Govt recruitments
PRAFULLA MARPAKWAR

MUMBAI, MAY 13: Despite strong protest from employees' unions, the Congress-led Democratic Front Government has imposed a complete ban on recruitments to curb increasing expenditure on establishment costs.

An official order promulgated by the Finance Department states that while new posts will not be created, even posts rendered vacant owing to retirement, voluntary retirement, resignation or death will not be filled up without prior permission of the Government.

In case of a pressing need to fill up a vacancy, the head of department will have to approach a high-level review committee headed by Principal Secretary (Finance) and justify the need to fill up the post.

The Finance Department has made it clear that wherever possible, the vacancies arising due to retirement, voluntary retirement, resignation or death should be filled up from the surplus staff in other departments.

In a separate letter to all heads of department as well as State-run enterprises, Finance Minister Jayant Patil has asked them to reduce atleast five per cent of employees from their establishments within two months.

``While presenting the budget for the year 2000-2001, I had stressed the need to reduce the cost of establishment. Accordingly, Governor P C Alexander has abolished four posts on his establishment, while I had also reduced five per cent of employees from my establishment. If all departments take a similar decision, then the existing cost of establishment of 73 per cent can be reduced to 50 per cent in the next three to five years,'' Patil stated.

Maharashtra State Government Employees Confederation leader R G Karnik has taken strong objection to the steps being taken by the Vilasrao Deshmukh Government, saying they were anti-worker. ``If the letter written by Jayant Patil is implemented in letter and spirit, then in next two months, atleast 50,000 Government as well as Zilla Parishad employees will be retrenched. Similarly, a equal number of teachers from aided institutions will also be retrenched,'' Karnik said.

Karnik also said that while the Government has imposed a complete ban on recruitments, records of the Directorate of Economics and Statistics show that there are nearly 1.25 lakh vacancies in Government departments. ``My information is that the directorate has submitted its report in 1997. According to the report, there were a total of 1.25 lakh vacancies. Under such circumstances, the ban on recruitments is uncalled for,'' Karnik added.

Karnik also described as misleading the claim of the government that the expenditure on establishment was more than 73 per cent. ``We are prepared for a debate or discussion across the table to prove that the contention of the government is misleading. As per our calculations, the expenditure on establishment is 15 per cent,'' he said.

Even when the recommendations of the Fifth Pay Commission were discussed, the then chief minister Manohar Joshi had stated that the burden on the state exchequer would be to the order of Rs 14,000 crore. Subsequently, he himself stated that it would be Rs 5,000 crore, while in reality, it was Rs 3,000 crore, he added.

``We feel that the government should first define as to what constitutes the establishment cost. According to me, the wages and allowances constitute the establishment and it is not more than 15 per cent of the total revenue of the government,'' Karnik said.

Karnik said in view of the privatisation of irrigation, public works as well as energy departments, the employees of these departments have absolutely no work. ``We require more than Rs 7,000 crore for the ongoing projects of the irrigation departments. Since a meagre provision of Rs 700 crore has been made in the current budget, majority of the engineers and technical staff of the department have no work,'' Karnik claimed.