No jobs for 6 months

Hyderabad: In a major disappointment to job aspirants, the Telangana government has decided to put on hold the recruitment of zonal and district cadre posts in all departments till the issue of abolition of the existing zonal system is resolved.

After the bifurcation of Telangana, Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao announced scrapping of the zonal system in the recruitment of government jobs and a Cabinet Sub Committee headed by Kadiyam Srihari was constituted.

Two zones have been in existence in Telangana. The old Adilabad, Karimnagar, Warangal and Khammam districts come under Zone V and the remaining six districts Hyderabad, Ranga Reddy, Nizamabad, Mahbubnagar, Medak and Nalgonda districts were covered under Zone VI.

It may be mentioned here that the zonal system has already obstructed the official process of the long-pending general transfers of the government employees recently.

As the measures were already initiated for the removal of the zonal system, the officials said the government is of the strong view that legal complications would arise if the recruitment of zonal posts was taken up at this moment as the jurisdiction of some districts has been altered in the existing zones after the reorganization of the districts.

As the number of districts has increased to 31 from 10 to improve the efficiency of the administration last year, the boundaries of most of the new districts have changed in the two old zones. The option before the government is either to abolish the zonal system or rearrange the new districts in the existing two zones. Officials who know of the issue explained that the recruitment could not be done unless the issue was addressed.

Many zonal posts, including Sub Inspectors in the Police and Excise and Prohibition departments, executive posts in Panchayat Raj and Rural development departments, Superintendents in Women and Child Welfare, Mandal Planning Officers in the Planning Department and Revenue Inspectors in the Revenue department, etc, have been sanctioned after the reorganisation of the districts.

Anticipating legal problems, the government instructed the Telangana State Public Service Commission (TSPSC) not to issue notification for the recruitment of nearly 10,000 sanctioned posts. Also, the government is not ready to fill the district-cadre posts such as teachers, junior assistant and senior assistant posts in various departments as it is undecided whether to take into consideration old or new districts in the recruitment process.

Though Education Minister Kadiyam Srihari recently announced that 15,000 teachers posts would be filled soon, the government would have to come clear on district-cadre posts in the newly-formed districts.

Officials said Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao wanted to take up the recruitment only after resolving the contentious zonal system. The government is already making efforts to get the Centre’s nod to scrap the zones which also required the President’s nod. At least, six months will be required for the whole process, a senior official said.