Service regularisation of nearly one-lakh recruits to various State government departments has been inordinately delayed as the Public Service Commission’s verification grinds to a halt.
Commission sources told The Hindu here on Sunday that the verification of credentials of entrants to State service, which was made compulsory after a job scam in Wayanad in 2010, has virtually come to a halt in all districts, except Thiruvananthapuram, for want of staff. Even at the head office, the verification process is moving at a snail’s pace. The credentials of scores of employees who have completed more than one year service in the capital have not been verified so far. The situation is even more complex in other districts.
As per the system, the district offices of the commission give appointment to fresh recruits to present their testimonials before the designated officials for verification. The verification was introduced to plug the loopholes in the recruitment system, which gave room for corruption by bypassing the selection procedures such as qualifying test and interview conducted by the commission. On completing the verification, the commission will give its consent to place the candidates on probation and regularise their service in due course. The commission is understood to have put forth proposals to enhance its staff strength to meet the increasing requirements. Since the commission staff have a variety of tasks on hand to be completed at any given time, they would not be able to complete the verification procedures in a time-bound manner. Hence, the probation of many of the new entrants is getting delayed. Consequently, they do not become eligible for yearly increments and other benefits due from the government.
Each district office should be provided at least one more section comprising a section officer, three assistants and a computer assistant.
