MPs slam SR over induction of staff from Gorakhpur

MPs of Tamil Nadu and Kerala have slammed the induction of Assistant Loco Pilots (ALPs) recruited through Gorakhpur RRB in the North Eastern Railway zone to fill vacancies in Southern Railway (SR) by keeping candidates selected in the southern zone on standby.

Madurai MP Su Venkatesan, in his letter to Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Saturday, expressed shock at 51 assistant loco pilots vacancies in SR being filled by RRB (Railway Recruitment Board) candidates of Gorakhpur in NE railway in Uttar Pradesh selected through Centralized Employment Notice (CEN), while about 60 plus candidates selected through the CEN here were waiting in standby panel of RRB, Chennai, despite having higher cut off marks. “Filling the vacancies of a railway from other railways will hamper the employment opportunities of that railway candidates and disturb the democratic atmosphere in a country with different nationalities,” he said.

Joining his Parliamentary colleague, AM Arif, in his letter to SR general manager John Thomas, said the GM of NE Railway zone has proposed a total of 51 candidates from the list prepared by RRB, Gorakhpur for posting against the existing vacancies of ALP (grade II) in SR as per request placed by your (SR general manager) office.

Drawing the GM’s attention to candidates being allowed to choose only one RRB at the time of application for the post and that too against the vacancies notified for that particular RRB, Arif said the steps taken by SR to appoint candidates selected by another RRB was totally against the principle of natural justice and it has the effect of derailing the entire recruitment process.

Condemning the decision taken at a time when eligible candidates selected by RRB, Chennai have been kept on standby after completing all stages of recruitment, Arif requested the GM of SR to revoke the decision to appoint Gorakhpur candidates and appointed the standby candidates by RRB Chennai immediately.