ACAUT: Large Scale of Backdoor Appointments in Nagaland PWD

Northeast Today: Nagaland: Wednesday, 30 September 2015.

Anti-corruption watchdog-Action Committee Against Unabated Corruption (ACAUT) Nagaland has revealed large scale ‘backdoor appointments’ in the form of direct appointment in the Nagaland Public Works Department (NPWD) between the year 2005 and 2015.

According to response from the Public Information Officer (PIO), NPWD to an RTI filed in this connection which was furnished to the media, out of 171 Junior Engineers (JEs) appointed between 2005 and 2015 in the State PWD, 61 seats were filled through backdoor and only 110 were selected through NPSC.

Also making a record of sorts, ACAUT alleged that 21 JEs were squeezed into the department in one day alone-March 22, 2015 as direct backdoor appointees. This new record was made by breaking the previous record set on June 28, 2012 when 10 JEs were squeezed in the department as backdoor appointees, the action committee further stated.

ACAUT at the same time acknowledged that, in all fairness, 53 Sub Divisional Officers (SDO) were appointed during the same period, all through NPSC. On the other hand, ACAUT found it incredible that while the Nagaland Public Service Commission (NPSC) was in the process of notifying its combined technical services examination (electrical, mechanical, civil etc) for the post of 18 JEs and 5 SDOs to be held on June 2015, the NPWD ‘”sneakily appointed the above mentioned 21 JEs in May or during the same period.”

“Thus, not only were meritorious candidates deprived of their seats, the NPSC was made to appear foolish as well,” it observed.

The RTI reply from the NPWD basing on a query also admitted that the posts of SDO, JE are recruited through NPSC with a pay band above Rs 5200-20200/GP-2800.

ACAUT also revealed that between 2008 and 2015, in the most appalling situation, a whopping 1092 post of section officer-grade I & II, section assistant and LDA, all requiring minimum qualification of graduate and above or diploma in engineering were appointed without the department following any transparent selection process. The RTI had sought certified copy of appointment order /government approval order for each appointment for the posts of section Officer (SO-1); section officer (SO-11), section assistants, tracer, painter, mason, electrician, peon, chowkidar, driver, handyman (under mechanical), storekeeper, mechanics and LDA.

While the PIO informed that the total number of employees in NPWD is 9716, as per another query, it could not provide information on the total number of sanctioned post in the department since in many cases the records of post creation orders are unavailable or untraced. In the light of the information received from NPWD, ACAUT computed that out of the total 1316 appointments, a massive 1153 or 88% comprised of ‘backdoor appointments.’