PARADIP: Hundreds of youths belonging to the families displaced by oil refinery project of Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL) have threatened to resort to agitational methods against negligence of the company in providing employment to them.
The youths alleged that IOCL authorities are not recruiting them in the newly opened Delhi Public School (DPS) at refinery site and electrical maintenance department of the project. The company is recruiting outsiders to teaching and non-teaching posts of DPS and mechanical posts of the refinery project ignoring them, they added.
They also complained that the project officials have given appointment to their relatives to different permanent posts. Even their domestic servants have been recruited as peons and sweepers in the school.
Sources said around 300 mechanical posts were lying vacant in different departments of the oil refinery project. IOCL had sought applications to fill up 103 posts recently. After selection, 68 candidates were short-listed. Out of selected candidates, only eight were local youths, the sources added.
When contacted, District Employment Officer Tapas Kumar Swain said IOCL has violated the recruitment policy by not employing the local people. As per the norms, 90 per cent of unskilled and semi-skilled, 60 per cent of skilled and 30 per cent of supervisory and managerial jobs will be filled up with candidates selected from the project affected families. But IOCL authority has violated it, he added.
In his reaction, Collector Satya Kumar Mallick said the IOCL has ignored even the instruction of district administration during recruitment. However, at a meeting with district administration recently, IOCL officials agreed to cooperate with administration in recruitment process, he added. Meanwhile, land losers and displaced families have sought the intervention of Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan to prevent large scale irregularities in recruitment process of IOCL.