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Vidhan Sabha monsoon session: Haryana unemployment rate 8.8%, 2 lakh permanent posts lying vacant: Khattar
About 2.02 lakh permanent posts in various Haryana government departments are lying vacant and the unemployment rate in the state is 8.8%. This was stated in separate written replies by chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar while replying to two unstarred questions asked by Independent MLA Balraj Kundu on the final day of the monsoon session of the Haryana Vidhan Sabha.
About 2.02 lakh permanent posts in various Haryana government departments are lying vacant and the unemployment rate in the state is 8.8%. This was stated in separate written replies by chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar while replying to two unstarred questions asked by Independent MLA Balraj Kundu on the final day of the monsoon session of the state assembly.
Kundu wanted to know whether it is a fact that approximately two lakh permanent posts were lying vacant in all government departments and government scheme to decrease the unemployment rate by making permanent recruitment on the vacant posts.
The CM told the House that the vacant position of permanent posts is a dynamic figure that keeps changing. “As per the Human Resource Management System (HRMS), 2,02,576 permanent posts are lying vacant in various departments presently,” Khattar’s reply said.
In reply to Kundu’s second unstarred question, the CM said that the unemployment rate of Haryana is 8.8% as per the quarterly bulletin (January-March 2023) of Periodic Labour Force Survey conducted by the Union Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation (MoSPI).
The reply said that during the last 8 years (2015-22), about 1.69 lakh youth on an average have got themselves enrolled every year in various employment exchanges in the state. The data regarding permanent employment provided in the private sector is not centrally maintained by the directorate of employment, rather the employment department plays a facilitative role between jobs seekers and their prospective employers, the reply said.
The CM said that as per director general of Haryana Police, 12 cases of suicide allegedly due to the problem of unemployment have come to their notice between 2014-2022. The CM said that to make recruitment against permanent posts, Haryana Public Service Commission (HPSC) and Haryana Staff Selection Commission (HSSC) were regularly advertising posts on the basis of requisition sent by various departments etc. “At present, both commissions have advertised more than 55,000 posts, the recruitment process for which is underway. During April 1, 2015, till August 2023, the HPSC recommended 4,595 candidates for Group A and Group B posts in the government. Similarly, the HSSC has recommended 97,751 candidates during 2014- 2023,” the reply said.
‘Bids for Global City Project under consideration’
Industries and commerce minister Dushyant Chautala on Tuesday told the House that the bids received for development of 587 acres (first phase) of the Global City Project in Gurugram are under the consideration of the High-Powered Works Purchase Committee headed by Khattar and the work is likely to be awarded shortly and expected to be completed in three years.
The minister who was replying to an unstarred question from Independent MLA Rakesh Daultabad said the Global City Project, as per the techno-economic feasibility, is expected to generate direct employment of about 5.20 lakh when fully developed. The project inventory is planned to be monetised in phases on the basis of market appetite. After considering feedback from different stakeholders, initially three large land parcels and one social infrastructure site with reserve price of about ₹8,874 crore are being put to auction. An expenditure of ₹2,185 crore has been incurred on the project, mainly on land and associated costs, the Minister said.
‘In 4 yrs, 12,716 power theft cases detected in Nuh’
Haryana energy minister Ranjit Singh informed the assembly during the Question Hour that 12,716 cases of power theft were detected in Nuh district between April 2019 and July 2023.
The energy minister was responding to a question raised by Congress MLA Mamman Khan. The Congress MLA wanted to know the constituency wise details of the cases of power theft in Nuh from April 1, 2019, and the amount collected from the theft cases in rural and urban areas of the district.
Singh said that ₹896 lakh and ₹413 lakh have been collected from the rural and urban areas, respectively, of Nuh district.
Vacant civil judges posts
The Haryana government informed the assembly that 129 posts of civil judges (junior division) are vacant in cadre of Haryana Civil Service (judicial branch).
The government said the matter regarding filling 29 vacancies (under direct quota) in Haryana superior judiciary is under consideration in the High Court and promotion case of civil judges (junior division) to the post of additional district and sessions judges is also under consideration.
The sanctioned strength of Haryana superior judicial service officers (sessions court) is 246 and 526 posts of civil judge (junior division) are sanctioned in lower courts in cadre of Haryana Civil Service (judicial branch) the government said.
Recruitment policy
Khattar said with the introduction of the recruitment policy for Group C and D, the government has addressed the issue of prolonged delays in government recruitment procedures.
In the past, the number of posts was also high, and the categories of posts were also numerous. Therefore, to speed up this process, the government made a new policy for Group C and D recruitment, Khattar said replying to a question raised by Congress MLA Kiran Choudhry.
The Congress MLA asked why the government was not taking punitive action against all those responsible for glaring mistakes in the Common Entrance Test (CET).
The chief minister rejected every accusation of the Congress MLA and said under the new policy, a separate cadre will be established specifically for Group D posts.
He said the government has moved forward with advertising around 35,000 Group C vacancies under a newly designed Common Eligibility Test (CET) exam.
He said the total number of candidates who applied for CET examination were 11,22,232. Out of these, 3,59,146 qualified the CET Phase-1.
He said the latest examination conducted pertained to Group 56-57 groups. However, an issue concerning the repetition of questions arose during this particular examination is sub judice.
He said for the candidates who were given age relaxation in CET exam, the Haryana Staff Selection Commission, on April 30, 2023, has decided that the candidates, who were eligible at CET Stage-I but have now become over age be allowed to appear for Stage-II provisionally. If they get selected, then their post shall be kept on hold and their case shall be sent to the government for approval/relaxation at that stage.
3 MLAs get best legislator award
Three MLAs, Aseem Goyal, Jogiram Sihag and Amit Sihag, were given the best legislator award in the Vidhan Sabha on Tuesday. Aseem Goyal (BJP) was awarded the first prize, Jogiram Sihag (JJP) second place, and Congress MLA Amit Sihag was adjudged the third best legislator. The awards consisted of a shawl, citation, Vidhan Sabha memento, and a monetary reward of ₹1,01,000, ₹71,000, and ₹51,000, respectively.
Sidelights
Marathon sitting
The third and the last sitting of the Haryana Vidhan Sabha’s monsoon session lasted almost 9 hours, courtesy please-all policy of speaker Gian Chand Gupta. As during the Question Hour, all the listed questions could not be taken up due to paucity of time. The MLAs pleaded that they needed more time to speak in the House. A section of the MLAs backed the idea of increasing the duration of the last sitting. The plea was accepted. After the Question Hour, Zero Hour started at 12noon, and it continued till 3pm. Each MLA was given at least three minutes to speak. The House sitting that began at 11am finally concluded at 7.45pm.
Read file mantriji
Senior Congress MLA BB Batra kept generating heat on the Treasury benches. The Rohtak MLA used every opportunity to hit back at the government. During the Question Hour, local bodies minister Kamal Gupta fumbled. Batra was on his feet and asked the minister to come prepared to the House. “mantri jee, file padha karo,” he said, drawing ire of the minister.
Address me as Dr
Veteran Congress leader Raghuvir Singh Kadian, who represents Beri segment, is considered the senior-most legislator of the assembly. The former speaker, Kadian is apparently particular about everything. During Zero Hour, it was Kadian’s turn to speak. Deputy speaker Ranbir Gangwa was on the Chair who addressed Kadian as Shri Kadian. The MLA took exception to this. He got up and curtly told the Chair that he should be addressed as Dr Kadian.
Khattar’s surprise move
Minutes before the conclusion of the monsoon session, chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar brought a two-page resolution, causing flutter in the Congress camp. The resolution profusely applauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi for naming the landing spot of Chandrayaan-3 as “Shivshakti Point” and “Tiranga Point” where the Chandrayaan-2 lander crashed in 2019. The Congress camp was visibly surprised at Khattar’s move. The resolution had names of Haryana-origin scientists who were part of the Chandrayaan-3 mission. It lavishly praised the role of the ISRO scientists at length. After Khattar finished reading the resolution, Congress protested as to why the resolution is silent about the role of Jawaharlal Nehru, the first PM. Congress MLA Raghuvir Singh Kadian said after coming to power in 2024, the party will change this resolution. And the Monsoon session concluded the way it started--on a stormy note.
