The Fisheries Department is working with just half its sanctioned staff strength.
Of the 1,415 sanctioned posts in the department, 695 are lying vacant, which has resulted in severe paralysis of its functioning and also promotion of aquaculture in the State, said Fisheries Director Ramakrishna.
Though the entry-level posts in the field — Assistant Director (AD) Grade II — at the taluk level are almost filled (33 vacancies of the 180 sanctioned posts), the department has to post ADs for the 50-odd newly formed taluks, Mr. Ramakrishna told The Hindu .
In the senior AD category at the district level, only 10 posts have been filled against the sanctioned posts of 26. Senior Assistant Directors are the ones who act as the department’s nodal officers at the district level, coordinating with other departments, executing various Central and State government schemes, among other matters, Mr. Ramakrishna noted.
The three coastal districts where marine fishing is predominant have full-time senior ADs, but marine fishing alone is not the area of concentration of the department. There is huge potential for inland fishing in Karnataka, with its numerous reservoirs, rivers, tanks, and other bodies. Hence, these posts need to be filled in other districts too, Mr. Ramakrishna said.
However, the director said he was hopeful of the vacancies being filled once the issue over reservation in promotions gets resolved. Mr. Ramakrishna said the department has already prepared a fresh seniority list as per the recent Government Order and invited objections for the same.
Once the seniority list is finalised and promotions are given as per the list, the department would know the exact number of vacancies in different cadres, thereby enabling it to commence the recruitment process. Graduates from the College of Fisheries, Mangaluru, the only fisheries college in the State, have a good chance of being recruited, he said. While 90% of the entry-level posts of ADs Grade II are to be filled through direct recruitment, the rest would have to be filled through promotion from the supervisory staff.
