Mantris on RECRUITMENT spree even as economy dips

PANJIM: Despite the State economy floudering due to the mining ban and slowdown in the tourism sector, the State government does not appear to have learnt its lesson and is on a hiring spree.

The issue of recruitment has taken a contentious turn considering Chief Minister Pramod Sawant’s circular asking for withdrawal of all advertisements till the Staff Selection Commission is in place.

A top official in the government informed Herald that the High Level Empowered Committee (HLEC) and the Inter Departmental Committee Officers (IDCO) have cleared 5,318 vacancies, including in the Police Department.

The government decision of filling up the posts would incur an additional expense of Rs 300 cr annually, which would lead to a major stress on the State’s finances. 

The officer said on an average the salary of a government employee is between Rs 35,000 and 40,000 besides other benefits. “Just multiply this number with 5,318 and you will find the amount to be whopping Rs 300 cr,” he said.

The officer further said the committees have cleared the posts for the next five years and not to be recruited in one go.

Health dept tops job charts

Out of the 5,318 posts, 2,446 are in the Health Department, including Goa Medical College (1993), IPHB (312), Food and Drugs (54) and Dental (87). “Considering the present proposal for the posts to be filled, as and when the blocks or proposed, Super Speciality Hospital or establishments are completed, these posts are to be filled in phases for the next five years and not in one go,” states the committee’s report to the Health Department.

Officials said the Health Department had been informed in writing that the posts are to be recruited in the next five years, but the department has advertised 1,077 posts so far.

Solution soon: CM

Speaking to Herald on the recruitment issue, Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant said a solution to the recruitment issue would come soon.

He said that at present IDCO has reviewed year-wise requirement for every department and a decision has been taken in relation with the State’s finances. “Whatever urgent requirement is there only that will take place. IDCO has given its requirement for the next five years,” he said.

Asked about the status of GMC recruitments, Sawant said, “The minister is not in town and once he is back the issue would be solved.”

On some departments going ahead with the written exam, he said those advertisements were before the Staff Selection Commission was appointed and are for minor posts. 

Highest ratio of govt employees

Goa has the highest ratio of government employees to citizens in the country, with a government employee for every 25 citizens. 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. 

Governments have for years talked of decreasing paper work, cutting down red tape and making governance more tech-connected to increase efficiency and cut down on the number of employees. Ironically, none of this has had any effect. On the contrary, the number of government employees has only been increasing. 

The 2013 Census of Employees released by Directorate of Planning, Statistics and Evaluation shows that Goa employs 58,008 people across 76 government departments, 20 grant-in–aid institutions and 19 State public sector undertakings. The highest number of government appointments – 6,172 – is in the Police Department, accounting for 15.66 per cent of the total number of employees in the government. The recruitment for the Police Department, which is more than understandable, is also perhaps lower than it should be.