KOZHIKODE: Ten years after the important post of Woman Protection Officer (WPO) was created in the state Women and Child Development (WCD) Department (then social justice department), the appointment to the post is still being made 'by transfer'. The gazetted officer rank post, who is also drawing and disbursing officer (DDO), for each district is still left to qualified and experienced woman employees of the department overlooking the Public Service Commission (PSC).
The selection list prepared for the temporary appointment of a WPO each in two districts after conducting an interview on August 26 has kicked up a controversy as the second rank-holder among the three shortlisted is a lower division clerk-cum-typist of the department.
"As per an order of the principal secretary (finance) issued last year, no official of less than the rank of a junior superintendent should be handed over the charge of a DDO post. Then how can a LDC-cum-typist become a WPO? Many 'By Transfer' appointments are taking place under political influence," said a source in the department.
"The post of WPO demands a considerable amount of legal knowledge and, most importantly, a keen gender awareness. It is unfortunate that the government has not left such an important post to the PSC even after a decade," said the source.
According to the notification issued for filling the two posts, any woman staff of WCD Department who has 10 years of service in any post with postgraduation in psychology/social work/sociology or a law degree is eligible to be appointed as WPO.
"It is high time the WPO appointment was left to the PSC. The department has written more than once to the government in this regard but the reply was that it was delayed due to the bifurcation of the Social Justice Department. That is false. The bifurcation has nothing to do with this," said a top officer in the WCD Department.
Reacting to the selection list prepared in August, WCD Director T V Anupama told TNIE that the list was prepared as per the Kerala Service Rules and there is no violation. "The finance principal secretary's order is not applicable here," she said. In the beginning, WPOs were appointed permanently from the qualified hands in the department itself citing the reason that PSC appointment would cause delay.