Govt-APPSC slugfest over job notifications

• Chief Secy blames APPSC for delay
• Why don’t you give us a go-ahead in writing?: Biswal retorts
• No immediate possibility in the wake of T- elections

A huge controversy has erupted over the issue of job notifications which has been inordinately delayed for over year as the top two heads of government and the Andhra Pradesh Public Service Commission have blamed each other for the delay.

Notifications to hire nearly 60,000 government personnel in various departments have been kept pending due to one reason or the other for the past several months. All exams except the one for VRO, VRA as well as the just concluded Panchayat Secretary posts- were postponed indefinitely, throwing the careers of thousands of youth in disarray.

“APPSC is a thoroughly constitutional body. They don’t require anybody’s permission to issue notifications. I don’t know why they have stopped. As far as the government is concerned, we have absolutely no objection if the Commission takes up the matter. For the reasons best known to them, the commission has stopped it” P K Mohanty, Chief Secretary of the Government told The Hans India soon after the release of results of VRO and VRA examination on Saturday evening.

Apparently peeved over the observation of Mohanty, the Chairman of APPSC, Chittaranjan Biswal rebutted the charge saying ‘Why did the Chief Secretary say it orally? Why doesn’t he send a written commitment over it? Why didn’t he respond to our letters? ”

It might be recalled that the Commission has sent three letters to the government seeking its view over the contentious issue but as the political situation was volatile, government could not decide on it. When contacted, the top officials of the government merely responded saying-‘since the political leadership is totally engrossed in the bifurcation issue, nothing can be answered at this juncture’

A GO relating to age relaxation-from 34 years to 36 years-was also not issued- which was in fact due by December 31 itself. Not willing to give a straight answer, PK Mohanty said he would clear the GO ‘shortly’. When asked by The Hans India whether it would be released in the next couple of days, he said ‘yes’. He declined to answer a query on what will be the use of issuing it now, since the schedule of general elections is expected in next ten days, he said- “you can ask APPSC for the use or delay.”

When The Hans India brought this to the notice of Chittaranjan Biswal, he was a bit angry. “See, though ours is just a recruiting agency although we have functional independence. But it is the government which should provide us the necessary man power, security and all vital support. We can just hold the exam and declare the results. That’s it” he explained.

Stating that the state bifurcation is a highly emotive issue, he said-“Several intricacies have been involved in the process. There is local-non local issue, there is other provisions of Article 371-D. Legal issues may arise at the time of interviews or appointments. Even if we conduct the exams, there is every possibility of obstructions. So, all these matters have to be taken into consideration. That’s why we sought the opinion of the government but they did not respond”.

Biswal has also found fault with the Chief Secretary saying that this kind of blame game does not help. “Deflecting the issue will not solve the problem. We have to sit across the table, discuss and arrive at a decision. I think what we did is right and in accordance with the situation” he averred.

Top sources in the government said, now that the state is divided and the elections are round the corner, there is little that can be now. Several exams including TET, DSC have been postponed and nobody knows when they will be held at all. On his part, Biswal said that ‘he would look into the matter’!