Chandigarh MC chief sacks data entry operators hired sans typing test

At least 40 such staffers were hired on contract since 2018, when typing speed of 35 words per minute was made mandatory

Municipal commissioner KK Yadav has sacked data entry operators who were hired on contract in various departments of the civic body without clearing a typing test, a basic criteria fixed in the service rules in 2018.

HT Image

While Yadav has sought a detailed report from the establishment branch about the total number of such cases, HT’s investigation found that at least 40 staffers were hired in the past year and a half by various branches, flouting the eligibility norms. They now stand relieved of their duties from the date of order, ie February 17.

The MC chief in an order issued on May 23, 2018, had made it mandatory for all branches to hire only those people as data entry operators who could type at least 35 words per minute.

Since that date, the fire department has made five such appointments. In the engineering department, the public health wing has 14 cases, while the building and road wing and horticulture department have four and five cases, respectively. In the sanitation department, there are nearly 10 such appointments, while two cases have been detected in the commissioner’s office itself.

Sources said many of these departments have initiated fresh contractual appointments in line with the rules, but Yadav said he will fix the accountability of officials who failed to follow the norms.

“The basic job of a data entry operator is to maintain records. How can we ensure work efficiency in the office if the staff is not being hired on merit,” he said. “It is a serious breach of service rules, and I have sought a detailed report on it.”

Not a first

Last year, too, the MC had found anomalies in the recruitment of 75 contractual staffers, the agenda for whose regularisation was pushed by councillors.

As the MC began scanning their recruitment files, it came to light that at least 50% of them were “back-door entries”, as they were hired without floating any advertisement, checking qualification credentials or following other recruitment norms.

There were cases where these people were hired on temporary basis for six months, but were never removed and were seeking regularisation. In a populist move, the House passed the agenda for their regularisation in October, even as the UT administration had turned down a similar proposal in 2012.

At that time, the administration had even sent a letter to the MC, stating that all vacant posts in the civic body should be filled on regular basis through direct recruitment.