The recruitment saga at Margao Municipal Council came to a dramatic close after a notice was issued withdrawing the process set in motion on August 10. The 43 vacancies at the municipality, including eight LDCs, one mason and 34 workers, were in the eye of a storm after it came to light that assurances were given to two BJP-backed councillors of the ruling dispensation to recruit their siblings as LDCs.
The cancellation of the recruitment process comes as a major embarrassment to not only the BJP-backed councillors in question but also to the Margao MLA Digambar Kamat, who was rallying solidly behind the BJP members to the extent of even trying to get the notice withdrawn.
Interestingly, Minister for Urban Development Vishwajit Rane stood steadfast to the assurance of cancelling the recruitment process. Distributing jobs to the kin of councillors has been a trend for years in Margao and several other municipalities. It has been going on for years, and probably these are some of the perks that councillors bargain for.
The question is whether the Margao Municipality case will be a benchmark henceforth for all local bodies, including panchayats or whether this was a case of political one-upmanship only restricted to Margao.
It may be recalled that the government has been talking about routing recruitment through the Staff Selection Commission (SSC) for over three years now but has been dragging its feet due to political reasons. Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, while launching the website of the SSC in June this year, said that the recruitment process will begin under the new system in September, adding that there will be complete transparency and merit will be a top priority.
Is the Margao development a sign of things to come? If yes, what about the jobs of workers and masons which the SSC does not handle? Will there be hiring transparency, or will this be under the discretionary/ commitment quota again?
The systemic change may not go down well with the civic body, which is tuned to having a say in all internal matters, and with wings clipped, those given extraordinary commitments may end up getting a raw deal. It remains to be seen how the leadership will go about assuaging hurt sentiments.
The larger question, however, is about employment. Political quotas in jobs have denied employment to thousands of deserving candidates across Goa who have the qualifications, eligibility and merit. References have often been made inside the Legislative Assembly and outside about certain ministers reserving jobs to their constituents.
Political influences in jobs are a malaise that has to be treated with all urgency in the more considerable interest of the society. When we talk of failure in the delivery of services or poor administration, we must also consider the poor selection of resources that leads to the situation. The disappointment, frustration and failures are primarily connected to human resources.
Political influences and quotas in jobs must stop immediately. Let there be complete transparency in the selection process. We hope cancelling jobs at the Margao Municipality will be a start-point to Operation Clean-up of our flawed recruitment processes.
