PANAJI
The 2016 ban on mass recruitment in government departments has been lifted by the Pramod Sawant-led government.
Lifting of the ban only months before the State is slated to go to the polls early next year paves the way for the BJP government to launch massive recruitment drives to lure the younger electorate, a time-tested strategy by political parties.
In fact, the preliminary process for recruitment of nearly 1,000 personnel in the Goa Police Department had already commenced a few weeks ago.
The government, is however still to give final shape to rules under the law it enacted last year setting up the Goa State Staff Selection Commission, which would ideally come into play for any large recruitment processes for all non-gazetted posts.
The circular lifting the government recruitment ban was issued by the Personnel Department in late May, at the height of the mayhem unleashed by the second wave of Covid-19 infections in the State.
Although issued on May 27, it was made public only on Wednesday.
The Laximikant Parsekar government had imposed the ban on recruitment process in government departments, grant-in-aid institutions, autonomous bodies and State-owned corporations in November 2016.
It was prompted by the financial burden on the State exchequer due to the salary bill and in particular after the implementation of recommendations of the seventh central pay commission benefits to employees of the government and aided institutions.
Recruitment drives launched by governments in election years have been a bone of contention between competing political parties in Goa for decades.
