BHUBANESWAR: As the appointment of successful Orissa Civil Services (OCS) candidates lingers, their agony mounts. As many as 378 candidates cleared the 2006 examination, results of which were declared in May 2010 after four years of prolonged legal battles. The delay in appointments is worrying as hundreds of successful candidates belong to lower middle class and poor families.
The successful candidates, in a letter, have urged new Chief Secretary Bijay Kumar Patnaik and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to immediately look into the matter.
The Government has so far conducted medical test for all the candidates. But police verification on criminal antecedents of the candidates is yet to be completed. Reports said despite reminders to the district SPs and the collectors, only 50-60 per cent of the districts have complied with the GA Department’s order on police verification. This is the major cause of delay in appointment.
The candidates said as the Government did not make any advertisement for OCS jobs from 2001 to 2005. The fresh OCS advertisement came up only in 2006. So in the last 10 years the aspirants got only one chance to take the State civil services exam.
Any more delay will be suicidal for the candidates as majority of them are already in the age group of 35-40 years, said parents.
"In the last 10 years we got only one chance. Now the appointments are hanging fire," rued Samata Das, a successful candidate in her late 30s.
The successful candidates called off their proposed silent rally on August 31 after getting assurance from senior officials for early appointment.
Additional Secretary, GA Department, Akshaya Pani, said, "The government is more worried than the candidates as vacant posts are affecting the governance. The process is on and we are trying to expedite it. Last time it took one year for appointment after the list was submitted by the OPSC. But that is not the benchmark we would like to emulate. The medical test is over and police verification of 50 per cent candidates has been completed."
He promised that the process would be over as early as possible.
