The Himachal Pradesh high court (HC) on Wednesday ordered a halt to outsourced recruitment in the state while hearing petitions challenging the government’s outsourcing policy and alleged recruitment irregularities. The court said no appointments in government departments or government-controlled undertakings should bypass the established Recruitment and Promotion Rules.
A division bench comprising HC chief justice Gurmeet Singh Sandhawalia and justice Bipin Chander Negi observed that a halt to outsourced recruitment was essential. “It is arbitrary and discriminatory for the government to bypass the Recruitment and Promotion Rules in favour of outsourcing,” the bench stated.
The government cannot exploit the unemployed under the pretext of saving funds, it said. The court noted that such policy decisions lead to the exploitation of a large number of people employed via outsourcing. Despite the existence of vacancies, individuals are deprived of their statutory rights as the formal recruitment process is bypassed.
The bench further said that it had not been informed about the percentage of vacancies against which these outsourcing appointments had been made. Data submitted to the court indicates that a total of 17,114 individuals have been recruited on an outsourcing basis. These appointments have been made across a total of 42 institutions, including the HC and the Himachal Pradesh Judicial Academy.
Specifically, appointments include 630 personnel in the director general of police’s office, 542 in the jal shakti department, 1,473 in the electricity corporation, 632 in the rural development department, 803 in the directorate of agriculture, 793 at the agriculture university in Palampur, and 2,578 in the directorate of medical education and research. The next hearing is scheduled for July 7.
{{/usCountry}}Specifically, appointments include 630 personnel in the director general of police’s office, 542 in the jal shakti department, 1,473 in the electricity corporation, 632 in the rural development department, 803 in the directorate of agriculture, 793 at the agriculture university in Palampur, and 2,578 in the directorate of medical education and research. The next hearing is scheduled for July 7.
{{/usCountry}}During a previous hearing, the court was informed that personnel are initially recruited by the health department on an outsourced basis and subsequently absorbed into the Rogi Kalyan Samiti (Patient Welfare Committee). The state government informed the HC that it lacked complete data regarding the total number of outsourced employees working across the government and its undertakings. The court had ordered the health secretary and the finance secretary to appear personally to provide an explanation.