THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The state government’s policy is to carry out appointments to all available vacancies before the expiry of the validity of PSC rank lists, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan informed the Assembly on Thursday.
Replying to a submission by Leader of the Opposition V D Satheesan, Pinarayi said that since the government has already taken steps to carry out appointments against all existing vacancies, there is no need to further extend the validity of rank lists.
The validity of rank lists that were to expire between February 2 and August 3 has already been extended to August 4, he said. The Chief Minister admitted the PSC could not conduct various competitive exams owing to the Covid situation but it has not affected reporting of vacancies or giving advice for appointments.
"Taking into account the August 4 deadline, appointing authorities should report vacancies till that date to the PSC. Strict action will be taken against department heads and appointing authorities who commit lapses," Pinarayi warned.
The Chief Minister said an online system has been put in place for timely reporting of vacancies. Besides, the administrative vigilance wing is conducting checks in various offices to check the accuracy of the vacancies reported. A committee headed by the Chief Secretary and comprising Additional Chief Secretaries of Finance and Personnel & Administrative Reforms will ensure that the vacancies are promptly reported.
"The government's policy is to carry out maximum number of appointments through PSC. Interviews and exams that were postponed in the wake of the Covid spread will be re-started as soon as the situation improves," Pinarayi assured.
In his submission, Satheesan had demanded that the validity of all PSC ranklists be extended by another six months. He said there were no rank lists at present for Last Grade and LD Clerk posts. He alleged that the government had taken an antagonistic approach towards job aspirants and was only interested in appointing temporary staff through the backdoor.