Recruitment delays due to ineligible candidates, pending clearances, and approval bottlenecks
PANAJI
While the arrival of 700 newly-trained India Reserve Battalion personnel will boost Goa policing, the elite force continues to face shortage of personnel with more than 1,000 posts lying vacant including vital roles in forensic investigation.
Official data reveals that the Goa Police, with a sanctioned strength of 7,871, has about 1,012 vacancies. The India Reserve Battalion (IRB) has a sanctioned strength of 3,021, of which about 230 posts are vacant.
The shortages are acute in specialised areas such as fingerprint analysis, DNA forensics and scientific investigation at the lone State Forensic Science Laboratory, besides higher-ranking posts such as Additional Director General of Police and Superintendents of Police on the law and order front.
Sources revealed to The Goan that from the highest-level vacancy of the Additional Director General of Police and 10 vacant Superintendent of Police posts, they cannot be filled until eligible officers are available for promotion.
The Forensic Science Laboratory is also functioning without an Assistant Director, while three Scientific Officer posts, one Scientific Officer (DNA) post and several Scientific Assistant roles are also unoccupied.
“Once the probation period is lifted and the candidate is confirmed for this post, the proposal to fill this one vacant post of Assistant Director FSL by promotion will be sent to the government on priority basis. For the four scientific officers, the proposal will be moved to the government after the candidates meet the requirements of the Recruitment Rules,” the source added.
Other posts awaiting appointments include two First Experts, one Second Expert, two Scientific Assistants, one Scientific Assistant cum Photographer, one Scientific Assistant (DNA), a Laboratory Technician, and three Laboratory Attendants. A senior official stated that recruitment is hampered by a combination of factors, including ineligible candidates in feeder grades, pending vigilance clearances and delays in approvals from the Goa Public Service Commission and Staff Selection Commission.
For the post of First Expert, the department said vigilance and integrity clearance is being sought from the Vigilance Officer. The vacancy will be filled through promotion, subject to government approval.
The Second Expert post has faced repeated recruitment failures. No eligible candidate was available in the feeder grade of Searcher, prompting attempts to fill the role on deputation with the Director General of Police’s approval. Despite being advertised eight times, no applicants were found. The department has now reverted to the promotion route, but the only newly-appointed Searcher joined in September 2023 and will not be eligible until September 2026. Officials said the proposal to fill the post will be sent to the government as soon as an eligible candidate is available under recruitment rules.
The shortage extends beyond technical units. There are 216 Police Sub-Inspector vacancies, 361 unfilled Police Constable posts, etc even as the department has lately seen recruitments as well as promotions across different ranks.
The fresh IRB batch, trained for 10 months at the Lachit Barphukan Police Academy in Assam, was addressed by Chief Minister Pramod Sawant during their passing-out parade who urged them to serve Goa with dedication and help the State achieve the vision of Swachh, Sundar ani Surakshit Goem.
