Need based institutions to be opened in the State: HP CM
Shimla, Sept 19
On the second day of the state assembly, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu announced that the Congress Government’s approach to opening new institutions would prioritize meeting the actual need before creating functional posts. Responding to a question posed by Congress MLA Ajay Solanki during the question hour, the Chief Minister highlighted the previous BJP rule’s hasty opening of numerous institutions without adequately staffing them. This imprudent approach had recently led to the closure of several educational institutions due to the lack of staff, he stated.
Acknowledging the valid concerns raised by the assembly members regarding institutions operating without sufficient personnel, the Chief Minister stated that the government was in the process of rationalizing staffing across all educational institutions. However, he emphasized that it would be challenging for the current government to fill all the vacant posts in institutions that were opened without strong public demand.
In response to another query from Independent member KL Thakur, the Chief Minister disclosed that during the previous government’s tenure, 1,766 cases were rejected on compensatory grounds, with only 25% of vacant posts being filled. He noted that the Congress Government had established a high-level committee to formulate a compensatory ground policy. The Chief Minister assured the assembly that the government was attentive to these issues and would take action to fill vacant positions once the committee’s report was available.
Former Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur interjected during the Chief Minister’s response, accusing the Congress Government of misrepresenting the situation regarding the creation of new posts and the opening of institutions. He alleged that many institutions were opened and closed indiscriminately. Thakur asserted that the state had the highest literacy rate in the country, surpassing even Kerala, and urged the Chief Minister not to underestimate the assembly’s members’ knowledge.
Thakur criticized the government for attempting to shift blame onto the previous administration, despite having been in power for ten months. He insisted that the government should update the assembly on the committee’s progress in filling new posts based on the compensatory ground. He also pointed out that backlogs persisted in various boards and departments, affecting eligible candidates, and urged the state to address these issues promptly.
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Furthermore, Chief Minister Sukhu responded to a query from Congress MLA Rajesh Dharmani regarding the deputation of employees. He announced that the government would introduce a new policy to return employees to their original cadres. He highlighted that more than 15,000 employees were currently on deputation, causing staff shortages in their parent departments. Dharmani raised concerns about the vacancies in major institutions like IGMC and the presence of surplus staff in certain towns and institutions
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