M A I N   N E W S

Govt to refund money to 2.5 lakh job applicants
Sarbjit Dhaliwal
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, February 5
A government job is a cherished desire of every unemployed youth. But an indescribable tragedy awaits many such youth, who have been waiting for years for jobs they had applied for long back. Failing to give employment to them, the Punjab Government has decided to refund their money charged as fee along with applications for jobs.

And the number of such youths runs into lakhs. In fact, there is a truckload of applications stuffed in gunny bags lying in the office of the Punjab Subordinate Services Selection Board (PSSSB). As the respective state governments continued to advertise vacant posts through the board, applications of aspirants for such posts continued to pile up in its office. It happened during the Beant Singh Government, Brar Government and later during the Badal Government.

Sources say about 2.50 lakh applications are lying in the board’s office. There are applications dating back to June, 1995, and then 1996,1997, 1999 and of December, 2001. The maximum applications, about 1.50 lakh, are of those who applied for the job of Patwari. As many as 34,000 youth applied for the job of Excise and Taxation Inspector while for the posts of ASI and Inspector in police, the number of applications is around 17,000. For the posts of driver, the number is 14,000. For Food Inspectors, the applications number 24,000. And then there are applications for posts for 100 technical and non-technical jobs.

For certain categories even screening tests were conducted but the final interview was not held. And in other cases even scrutiny of applications was not done.

The present government has gone a step ahead than the two previous governments. It has even killed the hope of the youth for Government jobs by imposing a ban on filling vacant posts, except in rarest of the rare cases for which permission is given by the Council of Ministers. And it (government) has decided to refund the money. It is another matter that the present government had promised to give jobs to 20 lakh youths at the time of the last Assembly elections.

Sources say in the board that even money would have not been refunded, had Mr Devinder Singh, a resident of Lehal Kalan village, near Moonak in Sangrur district, not filed the civil writ petition in this regard in the Punjab and Haryana High Court. Mr Devinder Singh had stated in the petition that the respective state governments had collected crores of rupees by advertising vacant posts. Either these posts should be filled, or money should be refunded.

But there is no money available with the board for refunds. When this correspondent yesterday asked board officials on the telephone in this regard, they said bills had gone to the treasury for clearance. “As soon the bills are cleared, the money will be refunded”, they added. Informed sources said the board had sought Rs 2 crore from the state government to clear the dues of applicants.