Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru (SP)

Bengaluru, Sep 28: After the government stopped all fresh recruitments in the light of the coronavirus outbreak, many departments including those which directly interact with the people are functioning with hardly 50 percent staff strength. As a result, implementation of various programmes of the government is getting delayed. With the improvement of economic activity slowly, the government may restart the process of employing people now.

Except health and other essential services, after the pandemic spread its wings, recruitments in all other departments were stopped. In many departments work is outsourced. Five lac employees work in agriculture, housing, urban development, health, tourism, education, food and civil supplies department etc. About 1.5 lac employees work on contract basis.

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As of now, out of 7.7 lac posts in the state, 2.4 lac posts are vacant, said C S Shadakshari, president of state government employees association. Departments like agriculture, revenue and animal husbandry including many others starve of employees and the shortage is about 50 percent, Out of 2,099 posts of assistant agricultural officers, only 400 have been filled. Each of the officers looks after two to three gram panchayats. They are grassroot officials and they are expected to ensure that government schemes reach the beneficiaries. But because of the shortage of staff the farmers are unable to derive proper and timely use from the schemes, sources said.

In the revenue department, 604 out of 4,020 posts of land surveyors are vacant. R Ashok, revenue minister, had informed in the recently concluded assembly session. He confessed that survey work has suffered and promised to make recruitments shortly. In PWD, there is a shortage of junior assistant engineers. Staff are overburdened with work. Staff shortage has also hit sub-registrar's offices, regional transport offices etc and the income of the government is affected. Shadakshari said that the employees are working under pressure and this is the right time to recruit people. If nothing is done to address the situation, the association will take to the streets to protest against the government, he warned.