RAJ KUMAR
Ranchi, Oct.22: If the Hemant Soren government is cutting a sorry figure among contract employees of the state, blame the three bureaucrats of Jharkhand for the same.
The three bureaucrats who could be blamed include the development commissioner, the personnel and administrative reforms department secretary and the principal secretary of the finance department, who in August last year were appointed chairman and two members respectively of the high-power committee constituted by the chief minister to take a decision in the matter of thousands of contract employees working in the state for several years.
These public servants are expected to sit together and give advice to the government regarding service condition of contract employees, their service extension, and tenure and honorarium besides possibilities of their regularisation in the wake of court orders and several allied subjects but they never sat to discuss the issue together and remained busy in the different others works.
This became evident today when development commissioner Arun Kumar Singh, who played a vital role in controlling corona pandemic in the state and developing medical infrastructure getting additional charge of principal secretary of the health department, informed regarding this when contacted for an appointment for a short discussion on the matter.
“Abhi Tak Koi Meeting Nahi Hui Hai,” development commissioner Singh said through a Whatsapp message when requested for time, reminding him of his special assignment.
Asked when the meeting will take place, he suggested asking regarding the same to DOPT i.e personnel, administrative and Rajbhasha department.
When contacted personnel, administrative and Rajbhasha department secretary, Vandana Dadel, through Whatsapp message requesting her for a 5-minute talk on the matter today, she immediately expressed her inability through a message saying ‘not possible today’.
When asked when it is possible, she did not reply.
Sources in the secretariat said, ‘Madam at present is worried about changing laws of different departments in accordance with the new recruitment policy that paves path for appointment of locals.’
Principal Secretary of finance Ajay Kumar Singh could not be contacted for his comment. When visited his office at Project Bhawan, an official after a brief interview agreed to pass a visiting card but after waiting for an hour he said the principal secretary Singh had gone.
An official of the department said: “Saheb is worried about finance as the previous government allegedly emptied the state exchequer.”
