The government, especially the Health Department, intends to recruit almost 5,500 personnel in different positions over the next four years. However, the Health Department, which appears to be in a hurry, has advertised for all sanctioned posts at one time.
The Inter Departmental Committee of officers, constituted by then CM Manohar Parrikar, had conducted a study of all departments and suggested the number to be recruited in each. Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant, sensing the grave financial situation and the massive recruitment carried out by the Health Department, issued a circular asking for withdrawal of all recruitments since the Staff Selection Commission has already been appointed for recruitment of Group ‘C’ post. Despite this, the ministers appear to be in no mood to relent.
Now, with the State going through a critical phase, as far as finances are concerned – wherein it is borrowing Rs 100 to 200 crore every month – can the State afford to recruit more staff? This is the million dollar question. This is also a time when the State’s Goods and Service Tax collection is almost 36.7 per cent short of the estimated target. The State’s salary expenses till March 2019 were estimated at Rs 4,691.68 cr and if we add the proposed recruitments, it will near Rs 5,000 cr. Sawant has been very frank on the issue and has maintained that only urgent requirement in departments would be taken up. Nonetheless, he has said that once the Health Minister is in town the issue of recruitment in the health department would be solved.
However, certain things do not seem to be in his hands too as the ministers are not in favour of a moratorium on recruitments, as was done by former chief minister Laxmikant Parsekar. Just ahead of the 2017 elections, the Parsekar government had stopped all recruitment of government staff keeping in view the stress on the State’s finances. The move backfired and BJP was reduced from 21 to 13 seats in the Assembly elections.
Importantly, Goa has the highest ratio of government employees in the country. There is a government employee for every 25 citizens in the State. Though the precedent of political appointments goes back many years, government departments seemed to be on overdrive in filling up government posts with party workers. Goa ranks among the frontrunners on the Human Development Index for the country, fourth after Kerala, Delhi and Himachal Pradesh. While this speaks well for the State’s high literacy rate, a better standard of living and comparatively less unemployment, the employment statistics do not make a distinction between the jobs doled out in the government and those available in the private sector.
The Government of Goa in fact employs a substantial 58,008 people, to be precise. For a State with a population of 14,58,544 (as per 2011 census), this figure signifies that 1:25 persons in Goa have a government job — or to put it in another way – there is a government servant for every 25 citizens in this State, something that should raise eyebrows, because it is the highest figure in the country. Instead of increasing the staff in departments, the government must look at capacity building.
The efficiency of government servants and output is an open secret. Once a youth gets a government job, he/she considers that they will be there till retirement. With the State government still deciding to go ahead despite these restrictions, it does lend the belief that purely political compulsions and not any departmental necessity is the reason for the recruitments.
