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As per the order issued by ombudsman Justice K. Gopinathan in February 2022, equal opportunity shall be provided to all the qualified candidates and reservation norms followed
As per the order issued by ombudsman Justice K. Gopinathan in February 2022, equal opportunity shall be provided to all the qualified candidates and reservation norms followed
The appointment of employees of personal choice of administrators and civic authorities in local bodies amounts to nepotism and maladministration, the Ombudsman for Local Bodies ruled early this year.
The order issued by ombudsman Justice K. Gopinathan in February this year on a petition filed by a public interest litigant Ravi Ulleyeri attains significance in the wake of the controversy over the alleged letter penned by Thiruvananthapuram Mayor Arya Rajendran to CPI(M) district secretary Anavoor Nagappan seeking a priority list of persons to be appointed in the local body on contract.
CPI(M) on back foot
Though Ms. Rajendran had denied writing such a letter and Mr. Nagappan stated that he had not received it, the issue has put the CPI(M) on back foot. Ms. Rajendran said she had taken up the issue with the Chief Minister and sought an inquiry into the whole episode. The party State secretary M. V. Govindan maintained that the CPI(M) stood for fairness and transparency in appointments and added that the Mayor had indicated that she would seek legal recourse in the issue.
Govt. responds
Earlier, in an apparent face-saving effort for the party and the government, M.B. Rajesh, the Minister for Local Self Government Departments, came forward with a statement that all the appointments to the local body will be made from the employment exchange.
Incidentally, calling for transparency and equity in the appointments, the ombudsman had directed that the temporary employees and those on contract shall be recruited only through employment exchange. Renewing the contract and allowing the employees to continue in service even after the expiry of the contract is illegal. Once the contract expires, a new list of persons shall be sought from the employment exchange and appointments made from it, ordered Mr. Gopinathan in the case of appointments made in Thalakkulathur, Chakkittapara village panchayats in Kozhikode district.
The ombudsman also ordered that equal opportunity shall be provided to all the qualified candidates and reservation norms followed. The extension of service beyond the contract period by arguing that the appointments are not made to permanent posts is illegal and amounts to corruption and maladministration, he ordered.
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