VIJAYAWADA: In a major announcement aimed at addressing the unemployment issue in the State, Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy said that his government would observe January every year as the ‘Recruitment Month’ to fill vacancies in government departments.
Jagan, who handed over appointment letters to the candidates who got selected for posts in Village Secretariats, said, “This is just the beginning. Hereafter, every January will be recruitment month. Recruitment tests will be held for all vacant government posts from January 1 to January 31.”
Congratulating the candidates who got selected in the ratio of 1:20 for Village Secretariat posts, the CM asked those who could not make it not to get disheartened and assured them they can hope to land jobs in the recruitment exams to be conducted every January to fill vacant posts.
All departments will notify their requirements before January, he said.
Asserting that the government created a history of sorts by providing over four lakh jobs in just four months after his party formed the government in the State, Jagan maintained that the main purpose of the new set-up was to lend transparency to the otherwise decaying system of governance, a legacy left by the erstwhile TDP government.
Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy will launch the first Village Secretariat at Karapa village in East Godavari district on October 2.
It’s not a job, a movement to end graft, says Jagan
The four-month-old government of Jagan Mohan Reddy has filled a total of 1,26,728 posts in Village Secretariats in a major recruitment drive to address the unemployment issue and also as part of fulfilling one of the major pre-poll promises of the YSRC, of bringing in a new system at the village and ward level for easy and transparent administration.
“You should not treat this as a government job, but as a movement to bring in change and transparency in the governance, which the previous government completely ignored,” he said, calling upon new Village Secretariat recruits to show commitment, bring in best practices and root out corruption.
Letters of appointment were handed over to a record 1,26,728 selected candidates the same day on Monday across the State.
“Don’t look at caste, religion, gender and political affiliations of beneficiaries. Serve them sincerely and ensure that government benefits reach the targeted groups. Even those who have not voted for us, should not be left out and you should win their love so that they will vote for us in the next elections,” he called upon the new recruits and made it clear that the new set-up was aimed at reforming the system to make the governance more accountable, transparent, honest and people-friendly.
“During my 3,648-km padayatra, people told me about the problems they faced in getting ration cards, pensions, certificates and other documents because of rampant corruption. I have assured them that there would be response within 72 hours after receiving complaints and you have to live up to their expectations. The people will be looking for basic amenities like drinking water, good schools, first aid, medicare for common ailments. There would be a pool of 34 departments providing 500 kinds of services and a call centre at Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) to receive complaints. Your job is to utilise the services to reach out to them,’’ the CM said.
After addressing the teething problems, if any, village and ward secretariats will start functioning in a full-fledged manner from January 1 to provide 500 services to the people, he said. On the occasion, he also announced that smartphones will be given to village volunteers by December.
Panchayat Raj Minister Peddireddy Ramachandra Reddy and Municipal Administration Minister Botcha Satyanarayana explained the objective of the Village Secretariats. “Notwithstanding the comments and comments in a section of the media, let me make it clear that everything was done in a transparent and unbiased manner with clockwork precession,” Peddireddy said.
S Mutyalu from Gampalagudem, who got appointed as village fisheries assistant, was the first to receive the appointment order. Thanking the Chief Minister for providing her a job, she became emotional and broke down on the stage.
“It means a lot to me. I am from a poor family and my mother is a kidney patient who needs regular dialysis. The increase in pension for dialysis patients hss helped my family a lot. Now, I got this job, based on merit and not any recommendation or bribe,” she said.
Another new recruit, Revathi, described it as a life-changing opportunity.
“My husband is an auto driver and I was worried constantly as to how help him in supporting our family of four. Now, thanks to Jagan’s government, I got the jobs,” she said. Poojitha Rathnam, another new recruit, said she never expected to get a job in such a span of time after completing her B Tech. Kausar Parveen echoed the opinion. A hearing-impaired girl, who got a job, thanked the CM using sign language.