Though Sundargarh is a minerals-rich district having Odisha’s first Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) in the form of the Rourkela Steel Plant, biggest cement factory OCl, Rajgangpur, and hundreds of small and medium industries, the number of the unemployed in the district is growing fast.
An employment exchange has been running at Rourkela since 1960, but the irony is that the office’s works seem to be confined to registration of names only. It has failed to provide job opportunity to the locals.
If the figures from 2009 to August 15, 2015 of the Rourkela Employment Exchange are studied, it could be easily understood how irresponsibly it is working.
According to information obtained through RTI, while in 2009, a total of 9,938 (6,282 boys and 3,658 girls) had registered, only 220 (162 boys and 58 girls) got jobs. Similarly, the registered figure in 2010 was 15,252 (9,007 boys and 6,245 girls) whereas only 122 (111 boys and 11 girls) got job through the employment exchange.
In 2011, the registered figure was 16,853 (9,885 boys and 6,968 girls) and 177 (149 boys and 28 girls) got the job. In 2012, the registered figure was 11,852 (7,525 boys and 4,327 girls) while 176 (168 boys and eight girls) got the job.
Similarly, while in 2013 the total registered figure was 14,859 (8,196 boys and 6,663 girls), only 248 (199 boys and 49 girls) got job. In 2014, the total registered figure was 8,501 (5,375 boys and 3,126 girls) while only 206 (181 boys and 25 girls) got the jobs and till August 15 last while the total registered figure was 2,590 (1,638 boys and 852 girls) only 61 (54 boys and 7 girls) have got jobs.
So in the last seven years, while 79, 845 (47,908 boys and 31,937 girls) registered their names, only 1,210 (1,024 boys and 186 girls) got jobs. It indicates the employment exchange has been able to provide job opportunity to 1.515 per cent of registered persons (2.137 per cent of boys and 0.582 per cent of girls) only.
Similarly, during last seven years, out of total 1,210 employments, while the male percentage is 84.846 (1,024), the female percentage is only 15.371 (186).
According to Gopal Jena, a commerce graduate, who had registered his name in the Rourkela Employment Exchange in 2010, he could not get a single call letter during the validity of his registration and that is why, he decided not to renew his registration further.
DYFI district president Rajkishore Pradhan said the State Government is shedding crocodile tears so far as unemployment problem in the State is concerned, but in reality, its action is just the reverse. It declares policy for local employment in industries but its officers are not at all careful to it, he lamented.
Unemployed ITI Association general secretary Sukant Rout said hundreds of small and medium industries are set up in Sundargarh using the land and raw materials from the district. But unfortunately, when the question of employment comes, they are importing hands from other States. Even they are ignoring the local employment exchange while the employment exchange authority instead of initiating legal action against those companies prefers to become a mute spectator. Even the role of politicians and elected representatives of the district is questionable, Rout added.
Though the Employment Officer did not agree to give any comment on this sensitive issue but an official on condition of anonymity said the fault very much lies with his office. Because only issuing a letter to a company when complaints are lodged at the office is not enough. Many companies including those are working at RSP and NIT are ignoring the employment exchange, while making recruitment, he said.