L E T T E R S    T O    T H E    E D I T O R

Focus on job evaluation of officers

I am yet to come across logical arguments for examining the issue of comparison of job and pay scales of Army officers vis-à-vis IAS and IPS officers. As an HR consultant, I have been designing common job evaluation system for years. It is mostly based on giving marks out of total points allotted to a standard set of factors for all jobs to be compared.

The factors include specialisation, complexity of job knowledge, level of planning, organisation and execution of resources for optimal results, creativity and job hazards, leadership level, internal and external interaction and job specifications in terms of education, level of training and experience, etc. The total points scored by a job establishes its standing within its own hierarchy as compared to those of other varied jobs in diverse fields.

One concept is that the risk of life as a job hazard for Army officers cannot be stretched beyond a point and it is to be treated as one of the factors to be evaluated in the system. Consider the role of a District Collector or Deputy Commissioner. He is responsible for so many things — law and order, development and planning. Compare his work with those of Army and IPS officers.

The Sixth Pay Commission must have followed its own job evaluation system and the same can be re-evaluated, if required.

D.S. REEN, HR Consultant, Panchkula

Misplaced love for Punjabi I was amused to read a news-item that the Punjab Chief Minister had returned a file because the noting was not in Punjabi. What would be the fate of a Punjabi IAS officer serving in Andhra Pradesh who may be asked to put up a file noting in Telugu? It is this overblown and overemphaised love of Punjabi language by our diehard politicians for garnering votes that cut the size of Punjab to one-fifth of Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s Punjab. Persian and not Punjabi was the court language of then Punjab. In the present-day globalised world of cut-throat competition, English matters most and not one’s mother tongue. The need of the hour is to promote English in our schools and colleges to help Punjabi youth get jobs. SUKHDEV SINGH GILL, Jagraon

Do it online

During a recent bus journey from Kullu, I met a gentleman and his daughter who had travelled all the way to Sundernagar from Rajgarh near Solan for counseling in diploma course. Sundernagar was the only centre for the aspiring candidates in the state.

The gentleman owned a small shop in his village. His daughter, after Plus Two, was keen to make a career in computers. They had traveled for 18 hours from their village to Sundernagar, having spent Rs 860 (one way) on bus fare.

This is the IT age. When one can book a rail or air ticket from home, why can’t we ensure online counselling? In fact, all interviews for seats in foreign universities are done online. This will save students and parents from avoidable hassles and money.

NEELA SOOD, Mubarakpur (Mohali)

Stop this practice

The Madras High Court has very rightly ruled that no human being should be allowed to go into the sewerage and drainage to clear the blocks. It is shameful to see that even in this age of highly developed technology, in many towns and cities, men are being employed to go into the drains or sewerages for cleaning and many a time it proves to be fatal for the workers.

It is the responsibility of the municipal authorities to stop this inhuman act and use mechanical devices to get the blocks cleared. The government should enact law to stop this practice.

Dr S.K. AGGARWAL, Amritsar

Poor bus service

Though HUDA is developing Panchkula in a phased manner, for sectors 24, 25, 26 and 27 beyond Ghaggar, the local bus service in quite in adequate and senior citizens, it is very difficult to reach their destination across Ghaggar without proper local bus service.

At least there should to two three service in morning and evening from Bus Stand Panchkula to sectors and should ply for genuine safe journey. Regular local bus service in these sectors will help in the overall development of Panchkula.

S. K. MITTAL, Panchkula

Scrap subsidies

I strongly endorse the views of Punjab Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal that subsidies must go for the survival of the state and for pressing development works. The political parties should not cash on vote banks at the cost of public exchequer. To gain popularity, they should declare in their election manifestoes that their MLAs/ MPs would work by drawing only half-pay or an honorary basis.

R. R. TAKYAR, Sirhind Mandi

Arrest urban decay

I read the editorial, “Congested metros”. I first visited Ahmedgarh in Punjab in 1971 on my first assignment as a medical representative. During a recent visit, it looks much the same 37 years later. The same is the case with places like Sangrur, Barnala, Ambala, Hoshiarpur, Pehowa and Ropar.

In sharp contrast, Chandigarh has developed so much that it has gone out of reach of an average person. Who has made Chandigarh and now Panchkula and Mohali like this? The governments of Punjab, Haryana, and of course, the Centre. It is these governments which spend money collected through taxes from us! While funds are lavished on the Capital, Ahmedgarhs continue to live in Stone Age. The editorial rightly advocated shifting of state and Central government offices from Capitals to ease pressure on them.

VINOD GUPTA, Ambala Cantonment

Save the girl child

The growing menace of female foeticide is a serious threat to the entire nation. Here are a few suggestions to treat this menace. The dowry system should go once and for all. Illiteracy must be rooted out. The attitude of men towards women must change. General awareness especially among women needs to be encouraged. The PNDT Act must be amended and the government should allocate more funds to propagate the cause of saving the girl child through the media.

Above all, the Indians’ overall psyche must change towards girls. Every woman must take an oath not to kill the unborn daughter. Only then, this problem can be solved.

SOURABH BAMBA, Ferozepore