Outsourcing for OPTCl posts raises eyebrows

Recruitment through outsourcing for the posts of electricians under the State-run Odisha Power Transmission Corporation limited (OPTCl) has reportedly landed the State Government in a ridiculous position.

According to information available, the Odisha Power Transmission Corporation limited (OPTCl) , which is in need of 150 posts of Junior Maintenance and Operator Trainees, outsourced the recruitment to a Kolkata-based outsourcing firm which conducted written examinations in December last.

The post of Junior Maintenance and Operator Trainees (JMOT) is said to be an analogous post with that of an Electrician for which the prescribed qualification is ITI pass certificate. However, the questions which were given to the candidates in their examinations were so tough that only 14 out of about 10,000 candidates who appeared at the written examinations could qualify.

The examinations not only raised many eyebrows but also gave rise to a huge public outcry, particularly among the examinees and their parents. As a result of this, the OPTCl had to cancel the earlier written examinations.

As per the information, the OPTCl is now again conducting written examinations in the second week of June this year, for which there is deep resentment and unrest among the examinees and their parents as they are once more made to incur expenditure. Besides, the fresh examinations would also cost the State exchequer.

While there are 120 engineering colleges, including an IIT Bhubaneswar and NIT Rourkela, and nearly a dozen universities in the State, the Government surprisingly could not find a suitable question setter or examiner for this written examination, thereby making the whole exercise a mockery, feel intellectuals.

There is a public demand for an impartial inquiry into the whole affair so as to unearth the real interest behind such outsourcing, said an observer.