CHENNAI: Hundreds of jobs in State PSUs and corporations may be up for grabs through open competitive exams as the Tamil Nadu Assembly on Friday passed a bill to empower the Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission to conduct recruitment tests for posts in quasi-government entities. The move comes amid increasing complaints of irregularities and corruption in filling vacancies in PSUs and corporations.
According to the TNPSC (Additional Functions) Bill 2022 passed by the Assembly on Friday, the commission will carry out the recruitment process for filling certain vacancies in PSUs, corporations, statutory boards and authorities under the government.
Tabling the bill, Minister for Finance and Human Resource Management Palanivel Thiaga Rajan said vacancies in Aavin and transport corporations, too, will be filled through TNSPC. “The historic reform will ensure that none get government jobs through bribery. The move will benefit students preparing for competitive exams,” he said. The number and nature of posts under the new legislation, is not clear yet, said TNSTC and Tangedco sources.
The bill comes a day after former AIADMK minister K T Rajenthra Bhalaji was arrested on charges of cheating job aspirants. Incumbent DMK Minister V Senthil Balaji, too, is accused of involvement in a job scam when he was transport minister between 2011 and 2015 in the AIADMK regime.
“Conductors, drivers and technical assistants form the largest workforce of eight transport corporations. So far, vacancies for these posts are filled through respective corporations. It’s not clear if recruitment for these posts will be brought under the ambit of TNPSC. We will have to wait for the GO,” an official said.
TNPSC job aspirants not so pleased
Similarly, Tangedco has a huge number of vacancies for field and office assistant posts. The response to the move from job aspirants has been muted. According to Ram Kumar, a TNPSC job aspirant and trainer, the commission never conducts exams as per its annual planner. “For 66 group I posts, preliminary exams were conducted on January 3 last year and main exams are scheduled for March 2022.
It took almost 14 months to conduct the main exams. But the result of UPSC preliminary exams written by 11 to 12 lakh candidates every year is announced within three months. TNPSC’s functioning must be improved before increasing its responsibilities,” he said.
TNPSC officials said they will soon send a request to the government to fill vacancies in the commission to fulfil the additional responsibilities. Demand for additional funds too will be made, they said. The TN government owns several PSUs, corporations and statutory boards including TNSTC, SETC and Arasu Cable TV.
‘Move will benefit students’
“The historic reform will ensure that none get government jobs through bribery. The move will benefit students preparing for competitive exams,” said Minister for Finance and Human Resource Management Palanivel Thiaga Rajan