Shillong, Aug 25: Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma has defended appointment of retired officials to statutory bodies, stating it does not block employment avenues for youth.
Responding to VPP chief Ardent Miller Basaiawmoit’s demand to end extension of retired employees, Sangma told the Assembly on Tuesday that re-employment is rare and for short tenures.
“The premise that extending service of retired employees blocks opportunities for youth is not true. Re-employment of retired officers is rare, for short periods, and in a handful of cases,” he said.
He said what VPP termed as extensions were actually statutory appointments mandated by Central laws.
“These are not service extensions. They are appointments to bodies like State Information Commission, Farmers’ Commission, State Food Commission, Public Services Delivery Commission and RERA which require significant domain expertise and experience,” Sangma said.
He pointed out that Section 22 of RERA Act, 2016 requires chairperson and members with 15-20 years’ experience in urban development and housing, Section 15 of RTI Act, 2005 requires persons of eminence in public life with knowledge in law, science, social service and administration, and Section 16 of National Food Security Act, 2013 requires former civil servants with expertise in food security and agriculture.
Giving employment data, the Chief Minister said in past three years, government advertised over 9,000 vacancies and filled 1,011 posts through MPSC, 2,413 through Central Recruitment Board for police, 769 doctors through Medical Services Recruitment Board and 1,686 through District Selection Committees.
He added the government’s focus is not limited to public sector jobs.
“Since 2019, over 3.6 lakh livelihood opportunities have been created across sectors. In past three years alone, about 50,000 wage and self-employment opportunities were created for youth through livelihood and entrepreneurship programmes,” Sangma said.
