Govt faces staff stortage for implementation of guarantees

BENGALURU:  The Congress government in the state is busy implementing its five guarantees announced in the manifesto. Among them, the enrolment process for Gruha Jyothi has begun, and the Shakti free bus travel scheme has been rolled out, but the government is facing a shortage of staff for implementation of the schemes. Hence, the Government Employees Association has demanded that the government fill vacant posts.

For now, the State Government Employees’ Association has insisted that recruitment should be done in at least all the departments related to guarantee schemes. There has been no recruitment for the past several years.

Government employees are needed for implementing the Gruha Lakshmi, Anna Bhagya, and Gruha Jyothi schemes. There are 15,038 vacancies in these three departments. The association has demanded that recruitment be made in these three departments at least.

C S Shadakshari, president of the State Government Employees Association, said, “We requested the government to fill vacant posts as the available staff is insufficient to implement the schemes. The work pressure has increased. There is more staff required in the Food and Civil Supplies Department, the Women and Child Development Department and the Revenue Department, as these are related to government schemes. There are 34,000 vacancies in the Health Department, 70,000 in the Education Department, and 11,000 in Revenue and RDPR departments. Most of the service-oriented departments need recruitment to increase efficiency in services”, he added.

C S Shadakshari, president of KSGEA, has demanded filling up of vacancies to increase the efficiency in delivering services.

Fresh recruitment will mean additional financial burden for the government, but at least the minimum staff required, Shadakshari argued. “About 2.58 lakh posts are vacant. We welcome the government’s five guarantees, but they require more staff to increase efficiency. I hope the government starts the recruitment process soon”, he said.