RS panel slams govt as 50% posts lie vacant

MINISTRIES LAGGING ARE THOSE OF ATOMIC ENERGY, RLYS DEFENCE, HOUSING/ URBAN AFFAIRS AND HOME

NEW DELHI: The Parliamentary Standing Committee on personnel, public grievances, law and justice criticised the government on Friday for failing to implement the reservation policy across ministries and departments -- with five ministries showing at least 50% of reserved posts remaining vacant.

The report tabled in the Rajya Sabha Friday noted that of the 10 ministries/departments that constitute nearly 90% of the central government workforce, five have informed the Department of Personnel and Training that they have filled less than half the vacancies in the SC (scheduled castes), ST (scheduled tribes) and OBC (other backward classes) category.

The assessment is based on data as of January 1, 2018. The ministries include Atomic Energy, Defence, Railways,

Housing/urban Affairs and Home Affairs.

Of the total 13,968 SC vacancies across the ministries, 7,782 were unfilled. In the ST category, of 11,040 vacancies 6,903 remained. And in the OBC category, of the 20,044 vacancies, 10,859 were open.

The committee, headed by BJP MP Bhupender Yadav, took note of the “dismal implementation of the reservation policy by ministries/departments”.

“It (the committee) feels that mounting number of backlog vacancies year on year points to a serious malaise afflicting the entire recruitment system as a whole. The committee impresses upon the ministries/departments concerned to fill up the identified backlog vacancies through special recruitment drives without any further delay,” the report said.

It expressed concern over “significant vacancies in the Indian Administrative Service, which is the backbone of the administrative machinery of this country”.

The committee also mentioned vacancies in the Central Bureau of Investigation, Central Vigilance Commission, and the Central Information Commission.