THE JHARKHAND STORY NETWORK
Daltonganj, July 15: The Jharkhand government will now formulate conditions, rules and regulations for the recruitment of fourth-grade personnel in government offices.
The state government has till date not come out as to when it will have with it rules and regulations for the fourth-grade employment. There is no timeline given for it as such.
The task is no easy. The framing or formulation of conditions, rules and regulations will have a superseding effect on all previous extant rules and observations.
This fourth-grade employment was going to be conducted in the light of the judgement of the Supreme Court which in its February 10, 2025 order had directed the administration to go by the ‘extant Rules and observations’ in matter of the recruitment of fourth-grade personnel within 6 months from the date of the judgement passed.
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Early Response Met with Later State Intervention
Palamu administration was careful right from February, when this judgement had come.
Well-placed sources said the district administration first conveyed the judgement of the Supreme Court to Karmik Vibhag, Vidhi Vibagh and Maha Adhivakta seeking their ‘marg darshan’ (guidance).
Surprisingly, these three bodies didn’t say anything contrary to do then, thereby giving ample impression to the district administration to go as per the judgement of the Supreme Court.
The administration went ahead only to find a brake on it Monday evening when the Karmik Vibhag issued a letter of Joint Secretary Asif Hasan notifying the postponement of the fourth-grade employment in the Mufassil which is district.
Postponement Sparks Hope, Disappointment
The postponement is being seen as a victory by those whose services were terminated by the Supreme Court. The retrenched ones feel this postponement has still some grains of hope for them to make a comeback in the government service.
On the opposite, there is a tremendous shock wave among the jobless who, despite having degrees, master’s degrees, computer application diplomas etc feel disheartened at not getting any chance to even become a peon!
Is the postponement justified or is this not a belated surgical intervention of the government?
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Administrative Observations and Key Issues in Recruitment Process
Administrative sources opined there would not have been any pain or strain either on the eligibles or on the administrative machinery if the state government had stepped in right in the month of February when this judgement of the Supreme Court had come.
Outdated Recruitment Criteria: One, it’s true the conditionality of this fourth-grade recruitment was almost ‘mediaeval’ like cycle ride test for the applicant. Who is the peon now who rides the cycle when battery rickshaw is so around? There is no cycle stand in any office. Bikes line up in every office.
Obsolete Guidelines: Two, Bihar government’s circular used to be read and followed. These circulars are now redundant and don’t match with the times’ spirit.
Absence of Written Test Proved Problematic: Three, Palamu administration had really conducted a written test for the fourth-grade personnel when the qualification ranged between 8 class pass to 10 class in response to its advertisement in 2010. Written test was dropped this time. And this proved the nemesis of the administration. Demand for the written test for fourth-grade employment became overwhelmingly noisy and forceful.
Uncertainty Over Application Fee Instruments: Four, what will be the fate of the demand drafts and Indian postal orders? A bank’s demand draft has a validity of 3 months from the date of issue. Similarly, the validity period of the Indian postal order is 6 months. Both have a facility for renewal or revalidation. Who will pray for the revalidation of the recipient here, District Employment Officer or the applicant who so deposited one of these two?
Upcoming Voter Roll Revision Will Add Pressure: Five, just a few weeks to go when people here will be mugging hard to collect their papers and documents to prove their citizenship for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral roll. This task is arduous.
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Administration’s Effort Fair, But Lacked Communication
Last, has the Palamu administration bungled or erred? A dispassionate scrutiny doesn’t find a flaw in the administration except that it dropped the written test and brought in 10th-class pass marks. Again, the administration did this in accordance with the 2011 resolution of the Finance Department of the state which asks for class 10th marks only for the fourth-grade employment.
The district administration would not have lost anything if it had held press briefing at regular intervals as the intervening period between the day the advertisement for the fourth-grade employment came in public domain and Monday July 14 evening when the state government postponed the recruitment, there was a flood of variety of information which added to the confusion and anxiety of the eligibles.
