The Naveen Patnaik government on Saturday took a significant decision, abolishing the contractual recruitment system which had been in vogue since 2013, permanently in the State.
As a result of the decision by the State Cabinet chaired by Mr. Patnaik, jobs of over 57,000 contractual employees will be regularised. The State will have to cough up ₹1,300 crore annually for regularising jobs. The Odisha CM said the decision to end contractual employment was taken in the wake of improvement in the State’s financial position
“I am delighted to announce that the State Cabinet has decided to abolish the contractual system of recruitment permanently. Even today, there are no regular recruitments in many States and they are still continuing with the contractual recruitment system. But in Odisha, the era of contractual recruitment has come to an end,” he said in a special address in the evening.
“I was waiting for this moment. The notification will come out tomorrow (Sunday). More than 57,000 will be benefited. The government will spend approximately ₹1,300 crore per annum. This decision brings early Diwali for their family members,” said the CM.
Describing the difficult situation that Odisha was going through when he assumed power, Mr. Patnaik said, “The post super cyclone situation and the fragile financial conditions then were the biggest challenges for me. The State was running on overdraft. The government was dependent on Reserve Bank of India for wage and means.”
“It was indeed a black period for the Odisha economy. The State exchequer was empty. There was tremendous pressure on our economy. We were lagging behind in various fields including health, education, infrastructure, agriculture, irrigation and many others. Our priority then was to bring improvement in all these sectors within our limited resources,” he continued.
Mr. Patnaik said stoppage of government recruitment and abolition of government posts were painful for him.
“The contractual recruitment system started in 2013. It was also a difficult decision for me. Now, our economy has improved significantly. Odisha has created a new identity for itself in the field of development in the country. Last year, we substituted the contractual recruitment posts with initial appointees,” he said.
Under contractual system, new recruits were forced to work as contractual employees before becoming eligible for regular jobs. It started in 2013. Teachers were being recruited as Sikshya Sahayaks (teaching assistants) and their jobs were regularised upon completion of six years.
