After Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's blistering attack on Services Department, under the charge of the lieutenant Governor (lG), the department on Friday issued a detailed statement refuting the charges.
“It has been widely reported in the electronic, print and social media that the elected Government has presented an outcome report of lG's office. The data as portrayed and conclusions arrived at reflect a distorted and incorrect picture about the Services matters. The factual position is that between February 2015 and August 2016 (18 months), “Services”, which deals with, among other subjects, filling up of vacancies, was being dealt through the elected Government. Only after August 4, 2016, “Services” is being directly dealt with by the lt-Governor,” the statement stated.
“Between February, 2015 and August, 2016, even though there existed 23,137 vacancies as on February, 2015 for filling up under direct recruitment through Delhi Subordinate Services Selection Board (DSSSB)/UPSC, the elected Government did not send even a single requisition to DSSSB/UPSC. If the said vacancies had been notified to DSSSB/UPSC in time, by now the same would have been processed”, it stated.
“Since August, 2016, as many as 22,272 vacancies (96%) have been requisitioned for filling up either through UPSC or DSSSB. Not only that, thereafter, DSSSB has called for applications for nearly 10,650 of the said vacancies and for the balance, advertisements are expected shortly. With special efforts, pending exams for filling up of 10,276 vacancies were also held between August, 2016 and December, 2017 as compared to the period February, 2015 to July, 2016 when exams for filling up of only 2,530 posts were conducted” , the department stated.
“It is interesting to note that the outcome report itself states that posts of over 30,000 teachers are lying vacant. The said report fails to state that these posts were also vacant during the period February, 2015 to August, 2016. The fact is that it is only now, when “Services” is directly under the lG, nearly a third of these vacancies have been advertised to be filled up through DSSSB and for the remaining vacancies too, expeditious action for release of advertisements and filling up is being taken”, the statement quoted.
In-so-far as the Health Department is concerned, in the last one year, majority of vacancies have been notified to DSSSB or UPSC for filling up on regular basis.
“It is incorrectly and wrongly stated in the said outcome report, as read through media reporting, that the IAS and DANICS officers of Government of Delhi are on strike since February 2 of this year. It is obvious that the Outcome Budget and the regular Budget could not have been prepared and presented by the Government if the officers were on strike. In fact, Cabinet meetings are being held and officers officials are attending office regularly, which is in full knowledge of the Media”, the rejoinder stated.