15,431 apply for 210 village secy posts

• Post Graduates, Engineers in the fray
• Middlemen out to make money
• 73 applications for one post
• Contract staff to get 25 marks weightage

As many as 15,431 candidates applied for the 210 posts of village secretaries throughout the district on the last day of submitting applications on Sunday, the officials said. In effect, about 73 persons were vying for one village secretary post.

The selection of the candidates would be based on marks scored in the graduation examination. However, the village secretaries who have been working on contract-basis would get 25 marks as weightage. That means half of the posts would be grabbed by the in-service candidates.

The candidates belonging to various categories including general, BC, SC and ST and others are vying for the posts.

The district panchayat officials said that the final merit list would be announced soon after computerizing the applications of the candidates.

It may be recalled that appointments have come to a standstill after the Central Government had taken a decision to divide the state three months back. The unemployed youth who were about to appear for competitive examinations like TET and DSC were disappointed over the postponement. Even the APPSC examination was also postponed indefinitely.

Now with the announcement of the village secretary posts, the graduates, post graduates and even B.Tech graduates have applied for these posts. Since the competition is fierce, everyone is trying hard to get recommendations from the ministers, MLAs and other people’s representatives.

However, there is hardly any chance for lobbying since it is hard to cut ice with District Collector Smita Sabharwal.

Meanwhile, some petty politicians have reportedly been collecting money from the candidates with the promise of getting them appointed.

The officials warned the candidates not to give money to any middleman and get cheated since every posting would be transparent.