Recruit through competition not deputation, says NPRAAF

EMN
Dimapur, May 8

The Nagaland Public Rights Awareness and Action Forum (NPRAAF) has alleged that several cases of premature promotions and absorption of tourism officers by Tourism department have led to excess of officers and deprived the educated unemployed youth of opportunity to compete for the posts.
The NPRAAF said, against the sanctioned 12 posts for Tourism Officers (TOs), the Department of tourism has 17 TOs showing an excess of five. Out of the 17 TOs, only two entered the service through the NPSC as Tourist Assistant and Tourist Guide who were later promoted to TO, the forum added.
Social Activist and NPRAAF President Wedieu Kronu in a press note said, “The excess number of TOs can be traced back to the Government order stating that those employees who have remained stagnant in the same post for 15 years or more should be promoted. Following this order, the government promoted 8 employees to TOs all of whose dates of appointment is 09/10/2014. Among this eight, only five had remained in the same post for more than 15 years and their promotion was justified. However, during this bulk promotion exercise, the department promoted another three employees who remained in the same post for less than 15 years. Thus, taking advantage of the government order, 3 employees were prematurely promoted adding to excess TOs.”
The NPRAAF further said, out of 17 TOs only three of them have educational qualifications in tourism related subjects like diplomas in catering and Hotel Management. “Surprisingly, even though the Department has excess TOs, Kiphire does not have a TO and the Phek TO is taking additional charge of it.Owing to excess officers, separate TOs have also been posted at Dimapur Airport, Niuland, Naga Heritage Village etc, which actually fall under the control of the respective district TOs. Also out of the total employee strength of 148 (the department furnished 149 but one is already retired) in the entire Department of Tourism, only seven of them have qualifications related to Tourism.”
Expressing surprise that technical department like Tourism has only 7 officers having qualifications in Tourism related subjects, the forum said, out of the seven also, the department could furnish documentary evidence for only three of its employees having qualified in tourism related subjects. Except simply mentioning that the other four officers have qualifications in tourism related subjects, the department did not furnish documentary evidence to substantiate its stand, it added.The forum said, in contravention to the Service Rule – 5 (i) which states that Class – I Gazetted posts would be filled by promotion of members of the lower grade, the department absorbed the deputation service along with post of one employee from SCERT to the post of PRO for Tourism Department as an ex-cadre post Class –I Gazetted.
“Instead of advertising the occupied posts for open competition, the Tourism department resorting to absorbing the services of employees deprives employment opportunities for the educated unemployed. When the service of a certain employee is absorbed, it also shows that the parent department from which the employee has been absorbed did not actually require his/her service at all in the first place.”
Stating that anomalies are only as per the limited information provided though full details were asked for in the RTI application, the NPRAAF said it will democratically pursue cases of all irregularities and corruption in the department till its logical conclusion.
The NPRAAF demanded that direct recruitment be held by requisitioning it to the NPSC as per laid down norms for all appointments made as a stop-gap measure for Class- III Non-Gazetted posts, after which, the said stop-gap measure appointments be cancelled. The same step should be taken for appointments of TOs, it added.
“All employees whose deputation services have been absorbed be sent back to their parent department and the resultant vacancies be advertised for open competition as per laid down norms. The policy of absorbing deputation services is depriving all available opportunities for the educated unemployed youth to be employed. The posts of all employees on deputation services are in principle ‘vacant’ and so direct recruitment be held against such posts.”
Stating that there are 12 employees in Engineering and Accounts Service who are on deputation from other departments, the forum said the department should recruit employees through open competition instead of requesting deputation services which are mostly absorbed later on. “Such absorption policy leaves educated unemployed youth with no avenue for entry into government service.”