Over 46k grads, post graduates apply for sanitation staff post

Over 46,000 graduates in Haryana applied for sanitation worker positions paying ₹15,000/month due to unemployment.

More than 46,000 graduates and postgraduates in Haryana have, over the past four months, applied for contractual sanitation worker positions with the Haryana Kaushal Rozgar Nigam (HKRN), shows data from the state agency.

Officials said there was little possibility people could have applied for the job mistakenly, pointing out that the job description “clearly outlined the work that was expected of people in the role”.(Representative photo.)

BetweenAugust 6 and September 2 this year, 39,990 graduates and over 6,112 postgraduates applied for the job, which pays around ₹15,000 a month and, according to HKRN data.

Further,117,144 people who have studied till Class 12 also put their hat in the ring for the position.

HKRN accepts applications on its website.

“A contractual sweeper hired by the government department, boards and corporations through the HKRN pool will get paid about ₹15,000 per month,’’ said an HKRN official.

Officials said there was little possibility people could have applied for the job mistakenly, pointing out that the job description “clearly outlined the work that was expected of people in the role”.

“Individuals applying as sanitation workers on the HKRN website have to submit an undertaking confirming that they have carefully read the job description, which is to clean, sweep and remove garbage from public spaces, roads and buildings. They also have to give their consent that if selected they will be posted only in their home district,’’ said an official.

HT spoke to sevengraduates and postgraduates who applied for the sanitation worker positions, all of whom said unemployment and consequent economic stress forced them to apply for positions they were overqualified for. Others said they were drawn by the lure of a government job.

Sirsa resident Rachana Devi (29), who graduated with a degree in nursery teachers training and is now completing her master’s degree in history from Rajasthan, says she has been without work for four years.

“There are no jobs. I have been sitting at home, so I applied as a sanitation worker,’’ she said.

Manisha (who goes by one name), an auxillary nursing midwife, and her husband, Danish Kumar (31), a graduate with a BEd degree, who live in Charkhi Dadri, also said they are unemployed and willing to work as contractual workers.

“We are unemployed. I have also applied for the jobs of computer operator and a Haryana Roadways bus conductor. I am more suited for a computer operator’s job, because I have completed a computer training programme. I earn a little by filling up people’s online forms on my laptop for ₹50,” said Kumar.

Central government data shows that unemployment in Haryana has been on the rise.

According to the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) released on August 16, the unemployment rate in people aged between 15 and 29 in urban areas of Haryana increased to 11.2% in the April to June 2024 quarter, as compared to 9.5% in January to March.

The PLFS data showed that the unemployment rate for women aged 15 to 29 in urban areas increased to 17.2% in April-June as compared to 13.9 % in January-March. The unemployment rate for all age groups in urban areas also increased from 4.1% in January-March to 4.7 % in April-June.

According to the PLFS’s weekly status approach, a person is considered unemployed in a week if they did not work even for an hour on any day during the reference week but sought or was available for work at least for an hour on any day during that period.

Sumit Sharma (34) of Fatehabad, a postgraduate in pharmacy who is pursuing a masters in psychology from Indira Gandhi National Open University (Ignou), was one of the applicants. He tried his hand as an entrepreneur with a medical goods business.

“I lost money in that business. I now work as a photo copier,’’ he said.

Rahul Dhenwal (31) from Bahadurgarh who has a BEd and is pursuing a masters in library science, said but is jobless said that it was out of sheer desperation that he has applied as a sanitation worker.

Ajeet Kaushik (27) from Jind has studied till Class 12 and works as a travel agent.

“I need a government job to be able to get married, ’’ he said.

BJP leader, Praveen Attrey, who is also the media secretary to chief minister Nayab Singh Saini said that the Haryana government has, for the past decade, worked towards creating employment in the state.

“Our government has given 145,000 regular government jobs. Besides, 3.7 million youth were provided self-employment and job opportunities in the private sector. About 120,000 people were hired on contractual basis through HKRN. The government also ensured security of jobs for contractual employees by promulgating an ordinance,’’ Attrey said.