TURA, April 18: Days after the Meghalaya High Court directed a stay on all fresh recruitments in the state, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is an ally in the NPP-led MDA Government, has now made a clarion call for reform in the state’s recruitment process.
BJP state vice president, Bernard N Marak, is of the view that there should be 40 per cent reservation in the state for backward and economically weaker sections of Garo, Khasi and Jaintia communities.
“Foremost it should be a transparent process, with standards of national-level exams. OMR-type should be the basis of evaluation. Merit-based should be the order of selection. Despite having a pool of professionals from various fields, the various department selection processes leave us devoid of officers and centrally selected officers are brought in to help manage affairs of our state,” Marak rued.
The BJP leader also said that nepotism, favouritism, backdoor entry and other similar alleged malpractices in the selection process should not only be eradicated but also be made punishable under law.
Maintaining that the state is in dire need of committed officers, Marak said, “We need competent staff and officers as nepotism and favouritism have both resulted in a diseased and faulty working mechanism. Files are clogged and important issues do not find a lasting solution due to lack of skilled manpower. If a competent workforce is not recruited, it can have a serious repercussion on the development of the state and its people. It is high time that recruited people ensure they do justice to their selection and their salary. If they are found incompetent, transfer or demotion should make way.” With regard to recruitment of candidates, Bernard said that adopting a digital process for online form submission, application, tests, compilation of office records and utilising digital India initiative will not only prevent leakage in various departments but also ensure greater transparency.
It is pertinent to note that the Chief Secretary has been tasked with finding out the ways and means to resume the recruitment process in state. Chief Minister Conrad Sangma, too, had informed that the state government is preparing an affidavit to be submitted before the High Court of Meghalaya, highlighting the steps taken to address the concern raised by the Court with regard to the absence of a roster system for recruitments in the state.
