the goan I network
MARGAO
Staff and employees working for the Zilla Panchayats are facing an uncertain future, but for a different reason “ for want of recruitment rules.
Though the Zilla Panchayats have been in existence for the last two decades, the government is yet to frame the recruitment rules for the zilla employees.
While the ZP members have been crying foul over the government’s failure to devolve powers and functions to the district panchayat body envisaged under the 73rd Constitutional Amendment, the ZP staff and employees are fearing the worst, that they may have to retire without enjoying the retirement benefits, including pensions enjoyed by their counterparts in the Directorate of Panchayats and other departments for want of the recruitment rules.
Appointed on compassionate grounds, these ZP employees are neither on the sanctioned strength of the Directorate of Panchayats nor on Zilla Panchayats.
Reason: When the ZPs were constituted in 1999, no officers and staff were appointed in the Zilla Panchayat since the recruitment rules were not framed at that time. Neither the staff was deployed from the Directorate of Panchayats nor deputed from other departments. It was merely based on an administrative order dated August 9, 1999, issued by the Personnel Department, that the staff was appointed in each Zilla Panchayat.
Officials say these ZP employees ought to have been accommodated in the Directorate of Panchayats either against the vacant posts or by creating the posts since the Personnel Department had issued the administrative order to the Director of Panchayats.
Sadly, it’s 20 years now that these staff have neither been accommodated nor the recruitment rules for the Zilla Panchayats framed till date.
Sources say the staff working in the office of the Zilla Panchayats is being paid regular salaries from the grant-in-aid received from the government. However, there’s no deduction towards GPF, pension, etc with officials saying that non-availability of these benefits will put the employees in the dock as they will enjoy no monetary benefits after retirement after putting in years of service in the government department.
Around three years ago in 2017, a proposal was mooted to formulate the recruitment rules of the Directorate of Panchayats applicable to the ZP staff in order to resolve the anomaly, by creating the required strength in the office of the Director of Panchayats to accommodate the staff.
Interestingly, sources in the know say the government had in the year 2018 accorded administrative approval to make recruitment rules of the Directorate of Panchayats applicable to the staff working in the office of North and South Goa Zilla Panchayats to resolve the issue. In fact, the proposal was sent to the Personnel Department to issue a notification.
The Personnel Department, however, contended that it does not issue such notifications, while urging the Directorate of Panchayats to frame separate recruitment rules for the ZP staff and employees, leaving the ZP staff and employees high and dry.
