NEW DELHI : The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has introduced service bonds for the newly recruited employees under its direct recruitment scheme, in a bid to restrict their early departures. From now on, a candidate selected to the post under Group A will need to furnish a bond of Rs 5 lakh. And for the posts under Group B and C, the employees will be required to submit a bond of RS 3 lakh.
According to officials, the service bonds have been brought in to protect the interest of the highways authority. Direct recruitment consumes substantial time and resources, but early resignations thereafter adversely impact the manpower planning, which ultimately affects the progress of works, they said.
According to a circular issued by the NHAI, the selected candidates will have to deposit the service bond amount if they resign from service before three or five years, or their service is terminated due to misconduct within the stipulated time period.
The NHAI is for the development, maintenance and management of national highways. The total length of national highways in the country, including expressways, is about 1.32 lakh kilometres at present. The NHAI is mandated to implement the National Highways Development Project, which is India’s largest ever highways project, in a phased manner.
The authority will soon prepare a draft of the service bond, in consultation with its legal division. The draft will be circulated after taking approval from the member (administration), stated the note.
“All advertisements and offers of appointment issued for the posts to be filled on direct recruitment will contain the condition for furnishing service bonds by the selected candidates and they will have to submit the service bond on a non-judicial stamp paper (NJSP) of ` 100 (duly attested by the Notary Public or the Oath Commissioner) to the NHAI at the time of their joining,” read the circular.
Resignations costly
According to officials, the service bonds have been brought in to protect the interest of the highways authority. Direct recruitment consumes substantial time and resources, but early resignations thereafter adversely impact the manpower planning, which ultimately affects the progress of works.