Madhesh Public Service Commission has no officers, staff appointment proposals stalled

On July 1, Janakpur Dham. Madhesh State Public Service Commission published an advertisement for the post of Deputy Engineer for the 2077/78 batch. On October 1, 2079, the written examination for the first paper was held. The persons mentioned in the first letter were interviewed on February 9. But the results are not yet made public.

Punit Kumar Yadav of Ward VII of Sarahiharipurwa was among those who attended the interview for the post of deputy engineer. He said he was confused as he had not been interviewed for five months. “It took five months and the result is not out yet. Why did you delay so long?” he complained.

Like Puneet, Ajay Mandal of Lakshminiyan Township III in Dhanusha district has also cleared the written examination for the post of Grade V deputy engineer and is awaiting the result. He suspects that the Public Service Commission is playing a joke on the candidates’ future by delaying the result.

“Many of us who gave the exam are jobless,” Mandal said. “If we pass the exam, we will become government employees, and if we fail, we can go abroad or do some other job in our country. Life has its rhythm!” When the Madheshwar Public Service Commission delayed the announcement of results, many candidates like Puneet and Ajay were stuck in a dilemma, not knowing what to do and what not to do.

A committee without officers and a secretary

The Public Service Commission is in a state of indecision due to the absence of officers, the staff of the commission said. The posts of chairman and one member of the Madhesh State Public Service Commission are vacant.

A long time has passed since the interview. The candidate cannot be recommended. The future of many applicants is in doubt. How much should I plead with the government?

The State Public Service Commission has three members besides employees. But currently it is the only member from Madhesh. Sujata Dev is there. The then chairman Surendra Prasad Yadav retired on February 22 as the age limit was 65. Another member Maharudra Jha also retired on December 3, 2079.

Not only the office bearer of the commission but also the post of secretary has been vacant since November 21, 2080. No new secretary has been posted since the transfer of the then secretary Naresh Raj Karel. Due to the absence of the office bearer and secretary, the commission could not even announce the annual staff recruitment calendar which was to be announced on July 1.

Ganesh Gunjan Jha, spokesperson and deputy secretary of the commission, said that in the absence of a chairman, a member and even a secretary, everything except normal administrative work has come to a standstill. According to him, the commission has not yet been able to announce the results of interviewing candidates, give recommendations, advertise written examinations, request vacancies from institutions, publish advertisements, etc.

The Madhesh state government has not shown any interest in appointing the vacant chairperson and members. A member of the committee, Deve, said that since the legal system stipulates that only two officials can take a decision, she can do nothing except to travel back and forth to the office. Deve MP complained that despite the provincial government and the speaker bringing the matter to their attention several times, they have not shown any interest in appointing officials.

“I had brought the issues of the committee to the attention of former chief minister Saroj Kumar Yadav and current chief minister Satish Kumar Singh many times both verbally and in writing, but the government showed no interest,” she said. The committee had become a prisoner of indecision.

Dave said at least two member officials are needed to make a decision. But currently, the work of the committee has been stopped for five months because he is the only member. It has been a long time since the interview. The candidate cannot be recommended. The future of many applicants is in doubt. How much should I plead with the government? They are called gods.

A recommendation committee chaired by the chief minister is set up to appoint officers to the state public service commission. The speaker and leader of the opposition in the provincial assembly are members. The chief secretary to the state government is a member secretary. Based on the committee’s recommendations, the law provides for the appointment of the chairman or members by the head of state.

It has been sluggish since its inception

The State Public Service Commission was established on August 4, 2076 under the chairmanship of the then Chief Minister Lal Babu Raut under the State Public Service Commission Act, 2076. On the recommendation of the government, Chairman Surendra Prasad Yadav was appointed as the Chairman of the Commission. A few days later, Maharudra Jha and Sujata Dev were appointed as members. With the establishment of the Commission, the work of office management got further boost.

In the five years, the state public service commission has been able to recommend only a handful of staff positions. According to spokesman Jha, the commission has so far advertised 1,022 different posts and recommended 376 people for promotion.

Similarly, out of the 646 employees who were selected for the open recruitment after completing all formalities, only 185 were recommended for the open recruitment. This recommendation was for the 2077/78 and 2078/79 financial years. No more recommendations have been made since then.

According to spokesperson Jha, the commission aims to fill 200 staff posts through open recruitment and recruitment from deputy secretary grade IX to assistant grade 4 in the fiscal year 2079/80. Similarly, in the fiscal year 2080/81, 117 staff need to be recruited but the commission has not been able to recommend these posts.

Spokesman Jia said that after processing the advertisements for 11 positions for promotion to the ninth level of deputy secretary in the 2079/80 fiscal year, three people have been recommended and eight are still being recommended. Similarly, written examinations were conducted for 189 positions from the seventh to fourth assistant positions. The results are yet to come out.

The commission had advertised for 45 posts between October 4 and 25 in the fiscal year 2080/81. Recruitment for 24 posts of assistant grade-5 technicians in engineering, agriculture, forestry and health departments, six posts in the accounts management and taxation department and 15 posts of grade-7 technicians in the health department has not yet been conducted.