DEHRADUN: All 396 ad hoc appointments to Uttarakhand Assembly Secretariat made from 2001 to 2021 are unconstitutional and incorrect, an expert committee has found. The Dilip Kotia-led committee has recommended cancellation of 228 such appointments. Another 168 appointments from 2001 to 2015 and their regularization have also been deemed wrong and “unconstitutional”.
The inquiry followed an uproar in the political corridors of the state amid allegations and counter-allegations by Congress and BJP over these appointments The revelation came after a report became public following an appeal under the Right to Information (RTI) Act.
Kashipur-based RTI activist and senior advocate Nadeem Uddin had sought information about the committee’s report.When Nadeem made the first appeal, the 217-page report of the expert committee was made public on the Assembly website and the Public Information Officer provided the report to Nadeem.
A study of this report of the committee revealed that all 396 ad hoc appointments were considered unconstitutional. It clearly mentions that Article 14 and Article 16 of the Constitution have been violated by not providing equal opportunity to all eligible and interested candidates for ad-hoc appointments made to the Assembly Secretariat from 2001 to 2022.Para 11 of the report also mentions, “All these appointments are in violation of the provisions of the Rules.”
“The provisions which have been shown in the report include not constituting a selection committee, not issuing advertisements or public notice for ad-hoc appointment nor obtaining names from employment exchanges, granting appointment on individual applications without seeking application forms,” the report said.The provision also includes not conducting any competitive examination, scheduled castes of the State of Uttarakhand as per the provisions of the rules,” the report further mentioned.