There appears to be complete indifferences on the part of the government in taking up the direct recruitment of the First Division Assistants (FDAs) in the Revenue Department as mandated in the Karnataka State Civil Services Act 1978 and in the recent notification of vacancies for which the KPSC conducted written examination for the post of FDA there is no mention of the posts that are to be filled in the revenue department.
Official sources told The Hindu in Kalaburagi on Sunday that there was a large number of vacancies to be filled up through direct recruitment. As per the prevailing government rules at least 30 per cent of the total FDA posts in the Revenue Department should be filled through direct recruitment. But subverting this process the posts which should have been filled through direct recruitment is being filled as temporary posting with promotees from Second Division Clerks (SDCs).
While the minimum qualification required for the direct recruitment as the FDA was graduation, it was not the same in the case of SDCs and non graduates are eligible to be appointed as SDCs. The failure on the part of the revenue department to notify the vacant FDC posts has denied young graduates of the state of an opportunity to serve in the government department. This has also deprived the department of a qualified human resource to work at the middle level in the government.
Sources said that the revenue department which had become an abode of accommodating the persons on compassionate grounds as SDCs. The vacant FDA posts were filled through promotions of the SDCs. This was being done despite a clear direction from the state government through a notification issued on September 29 this year stating that “no promotion shall be made against direct recruitment vacancy”.
Further, the government in another order issued in May this year had clarified that the percentage of direct recruitments prescribed in the rules shall apply to the total number of posts in the cadre including that of permanent and temporary. Accordingly, the number of posts to be filled by direct recruitment and promotion shall be determined based on the total cadre strength in each cadre. The notification stated that direct recruits shall be appointed against the number of posts determined for the direct recruitment quota and promotees shall be appointed against the number of posts determined for the promotional quota.
The notification also said that as long as the quota rule remained, neither direct recruits could be appointed against posts in promotional quota nor promotees could be appointed against posts in direct recruitment quota.“When a direct recruit vacates the post in the direct recruitment quota, it shall be filled by direct recruitment only and when a promotee vacates the posts in promotional quota, it shall be filled by promotee only,” the notification stated.
When contacted, the senior officials of the revenue department in Bengaluru were tight lipped about the reasons for not taking up the direct recruitment of the FDAs and no official reason for this was not forthcoming. According to information available many posts that are to be filled through direct recruitment in the revenue department were being temporarily filled under Rule 32.Particularly, the failure to fill up these vacancies in the Hyderabad Karnataka districts has denied the due reservation in government jobs to the unemployed graduates in the region.
As per the rules, at least 30 p.c. of total FDA posts must be filled through direct recruitment
However, another GO issued in May states the percentage applies to total number of posts in the cadre
