SURAJ NANDREKAR
PANJIM: It is difficult to imagine, but nevertheless true. Two government departments – Accounts department and Commercial taxes department – had advertised vacancies in 2012-13 but two years later have been unable to find suitable candidates for the posts. This is a State where there are about 1.5 lakh youth registered with the Employment Exchange.
In 2012, the Accounts department advertised 25 posts of accountants as the department is facing an acute shortage of accountants. In December 2013 the recruitment exams were conducted through Goa Education Development Corporation (GEDC). Almost 3500 candidates answered but surprisingly almost two years after the exams the department has sent a notification that no candidate has cleared it.
A day before Ganesh Chaturthi, the Accounts department sent a release through the Information department that the candidates who appeared for the initial recruitment examination for the posts of ‘Accountant’ by direct recruitment under the common accounts cadre held on December 1, 2013 could check the result displayed on the notice board of various treasury offices and also uploaded on the Departmental website.
On checking the wesite, one finds it stating that “no candidate who has appeared for the initial recruitment examination for the post of accountant has secured minimum marks in Papers I and II and hence no eligible candidates are eligible to appear for viva-voce/oral interview.”
This is repeated in the Commercial Taxes department, which had advertised 25 posts of Tax Inspectors, and only one candidate from around 4200 candidates cleared the recruitment test.
Candidates, speaking to Herald said they have been cheated by the new chief minister. “In the Accounts department everything was finalised and only the names of candidates were to be announced but suddenly the new chief minister came in and he wanted his own people in the list,” the students allege.
Students also allege that in the previous list many of the candidates were people of former chief minister Manohar Parrikar choice, and this did not go down well with the Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar.
Speaking to Herald, Accounts Director G P Kanekar said the department is short by 100 accountants.
“We have met the CM and had told him to announce the list as we are short of accountants,” Kanekar said. He, however, refused to speak on the results as the exams were conducted by GEDC.
Efforts to contact GEDC chairperson Kanta Patnekar proved futile as his phone was out of coverage.
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Candidates allege foul play in Electricity dept results
In the Electricity department, around 2,886 candidates had applied for 14 posts of lower division clerks and many had passed the written test. Thereafter 250 cleared the computer literacy test also conducted by GEDC. Candidates speaking to Herald said that they all had scored marks above 18 but below 22 and were to be declared as passed.
“Now the dept informs candidates on the net that the passing mark for the general category is 22 and for reserved category is 20. This was not earlier declared by the department,” candidates told Herald.
