higher posts New Delhi, Jan 5 (PTI) A Parliamentary Panel today askedstate-run Food Corporation of India (FCI) to relax norms andprovide promotion to SC and ST employees in higher postsbesides filling up 18,268 vacancies at the earliest.
The panel also suggested the FCI to undertake a specialrecruitment drive within three months to fill up the SC/STvacancies.
"By not including these higher position in the ambit ofreservation, the committee feels that the government hasblocked all avenues of reserved category employees fromholding posts which require policy making and managerialskills," the Parliamentary panel on the Welfare of SC/STs saidin its latest report tabled in the Lok Sabha.
Stating that it fully understands that the governmentpolicy does not allow reservation in promotion for higherposts, the panel however recommended that "FCI under theconstrained situation should chalk out a strategy to providedue representation in all categories of service and posts toSC/ST employees." "If necessary, FCI may provide relaxation to SC and STemployees/officers as per the DoPT guidelines so that reservedcategory employees may not be deprived to go to the higherpositions," the panel said in its report on 'Reservation forand employment of SC/STs in FCI'.
On percentage of reservation to SC/STs for higher posts,the panel strongly said that under no circumstances thepercentage of reservation should be less than the mandatory 15per cent and 7.5 per cent, respectively.
In no way, the demography of a particular state should bethe reason for reducing the prescribed percentage for SC/STs,it added.
Since most of the 18,268 vacant posts are those reservedfor SC/STs, the panel asked the FCI to ensure there is no"backlog vacancies" from one recruitment drive to another.
Rather a special recruitment drive must be carried so that allSC/STs can be filled up since the 1997 revised roster.
The panel suggested the FCI to undertake a specialrecruitment drive within a period of three months so thatSC/ST vacancies are filled up and are not carried forwardyears after year.
The last special recruitment drive for filling up SC/STsbacklog vacancies was undertaken in 2008-09.
That apart, the panel also recommended that therecruitment for category I, II and II should be done by agovernment agency not by a private body. The SC/ST laisonofficers at different zonal and regional level should be fullfledged officers. PTI LUXMR.
This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.