Bulk of posts from among 422 vacancies of teachers to go to local candidates: Chief Secretary Anand Prakash On the issue of resident criteria in employment, the Chief Secretary Anand Prakash in a press meet today clarified and assured that in the ongoing recruitment of 422 Teachers, bulk of the posts will go to the local candidates. “The Administration is fully conscious of the issues and will take all possible steps to address the grievances and to assuage the sentiments of the general public especially the Unemployed Youths. Employment is a vital issue for the youth especially those educated and is quite big problem especially in the Islands,” he said. “Soon after tsunami, there was a surge in employment opportunities due to various rehabilitation projects and the growth rate was more than 25%. There is a boom period and bust period. Most of the jobs in the islands are in government sector and the private sector is in a nascent stage. Moreover there has also been a massive plan cut even after all our best efforts. “We need to stimulate the economy by pumping in money. The economy has to grow and jobs have to be created. The Administration is taking lot of proactive steps in this regard”, said the Chief Secretary. Recently the LG had met the Finance Minister and requested to increase the fund allocation for the Union Territory and stop all proposed budgetary cuts. He said that the LG has been assured by the Finance Minister that he would look into the matter. The Secretary Finance informed that the LG has taken up the matter of 15 proposals for 1800 posts in various departments which are pending with the Finance Ministry. Anand Prakash also said he had held a meeting with the members of the Andaman Chamber of Commerce & Industry, which also stressed in boosting the economy. The Chief Secretary said that he had held a consultative meeting on 20th Jan. 2014, with the representatives from various walks of life including that of political parties, Non-governmental organizations especially Island Protection Forum, Unemployed Youth and Islands Rights Forum. “We have taken some of their suggestions and I have also briefed the Hon’ble Lt. Governor on the outcome of the above consultative meeting”, he said. The LG has issued the directives to the Administration to ameliorate the situation. In the past, the Administration proposed a Regulation to prescribe resident criteria to public employment. However, the Ministry of Home Affairs did not approve it. Considering the socio-economic condition of the Islanders and the remoteness of the islands, the matter will again be taken up with the Central Government with adequate justification. As a long term measure, a proposal will be sent by the Administration to the Central Government, at the earliest, to bring the required legislation in Parliament, in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution of India and other Parliament made Laws. As short term measures, in order to mitigate the problem, the Chief Secretary informed that the Departments of the Administration will hence forth stop the procedure of notifying the vacancies online and such notifications will be issued through the local print media, in respect of non-UPSC posts. Personnel Branch has been directed to issue Administrative orders in this regard. On the issue of age relaxation as demanded by the Unemployed Youth, Anand Prakash said that the Administration has already accorded age relaxation in respect to certain posts in Health and Education Departments. He also added that on a similar line, the requests in respect of posts in other Departments will also be considered. The Administration will issue directions to all Departments to fill up all the existing vacancies expeditiously by following a fair and transparent method of selection, while recruiting candidates. Since the requirements of various jobs differ from Department to Department, the matter will be examined carefully and appropriate directions will be issued. The Chief Secretary said that experience from the past reveals that more than 90% of the Group B (Non-Gazetted) and Group C posts had been filled by the Departments by the local candidates only. There are number of vacant posts available in major Departments like Education which could not be filled due to non-availability of qualifying candidates. He requested the Islanders to qualify themselves to become eligible for the posts and said that free coaching for CTET qualifying examinations are being conducted by the administration. He also requested the aspiring candidates to take advantage of this facility. “It’s a Catch-22 situation. If we don’t appoint qualified teachers we will be compromising the interest of young children studying in schools”, he said. He also invited appropriate suggestions from all forums, NGOs and political parties to protect the interest of the islanders in the matter of public employment. Foreseeing the agitation planned by the Island Protection Forum tomorrow (22nd Jan 2014) he warned that the Administration and Police will not tolerate any kind of disturbance to the public order and the Law & Order situation. He said that a few government servants are fuelling the agitation, which may attract relevant rules governing their conduct. On a question regarding the 422 posts of teachers, Anand Prakash said, “What has been done is done. We cannot undo it. The candidates have to pass the qualifying examinations”. Replying to a query on the ongoing tourism projects, Mohanjit Singh, MD ANIIDCO informed that the tree major projects in Havelock, Neil and Long Island are almost thru, in which 60% of the employment will be reserved for locals. “Most of the projects are held up because of stringent Laws. However, the projects by Taj Group and CGHS have almost been cleared and pending with Ministry of Environment. He also added that the project in Neil Island is expected to be cleared in 15 days”, Mohanjit said. The Chief Secretary has reiterated that the Unemployed Youths of the Islands to repose faith on the Administration and the Administration will take urgent steps on the above lines to ameliorate the grievances.
Posted on: Tue, 21 Jan 2014 16:59:27 +0000
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