The latest government circular stating all recruitments to Group C posts must be only carried out through Staff Selection Commission once again comes as a rude shock to the 30,000 applicants who queued up at GMC. The circular calls for the withdrawal of all advertisements and processes post August 9 effectively nullifying the job process initiated by Health Minister Vishwajit Rane. The question to be asked is why this uncertainty for job-seekers?
The GMC jobs were announced much before the Staff Selection Commission was notified and although there was an initial note from Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, there was no clarity on the fate of GMC job applicants. At best, Sawant had indicated that there is no immediate hurry to fill up 1100 posts. Call it an internal rift between the CM and Health Minister Vishwajit Rane or a lack of communication, why were applicants made to go through the process in the first place. Accepted the fact that the involvement of Staff Selection Commission was discussed and finalised during the monsoon session of the Assembly and even if Vishwajit was seen rushing ahead with the recruitment process, the Chief Minister could have intervened and halted it even before it could take off. The uncertainty has turned the entire process into a fiasco.
Routing jobs through the Staff Selection Commission is a welcome move and it will go a long way in ensuring fairness and transparency in the recruitment process, but candidates can’t be victims because of internal discords within the government. It comes as a surprise that the CM is still keeping a window of the personnel department open for examining the release of technical jobs.
We understand that Vishwajit had to face the embarrassment of the people since he doesn’t have the answers. He states in his social media post that Sawant will resolve the issue at the earliest, literally pushing the onus on the CM. The social media post is sugar-coated with words like transparency, vision and a government that works tirelessly on creating new and better opportunities. However, the fact remains that the Health Minister being a cabinet minister himself is unaware of the status of jobs and has admitted to seeking clarity.
The point of argument, however, is not to pin-point a rift between the CM and his cabinet colleague, but for not giving enough clarity. Remember, candidates were made to spent hours patiently to lay their hands on the application forms, some of them even had to skip meals. At least respect that and be prompt and clear in your decisions. They can’t be made to wait in hope endlessly. The circular is clear as daylight and if there is any clarification or concessions to GMC job-seekers it should have come by now. The chief minister must be commended for taking the initiative of routing jobs through the Staff Selection Commission, but he has failed to act promptly in the GMC recruitment process.
