Alleging irregularities, at least three staff associations in the Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare Department have demanded the cancellation of more than 800 appointments made across many districts before the Assembly election.
The appointments mostly included cooks for hostels and a few watchmen and office assistants.
At the outset, the associations questioned the need and urgency for recruiting hundreds of cooks and watchmen for hostels on a regular time scale pay when the hostels have remained closed since the outbreak of COVID-19 in March 2020.
“When the government is under financial stress, what is the necessity for recruiting and paying them for the past many months without any work,” asked G. Vivek, general secretary of the Chennai-based Tamil Nadu Teachers-Wardens Welfare Association. The associations alleged that the norms for appointments, including the advertisement of the vacancies in the media with adequate details, scrutiny of applications, shortlisting, and interviews, were not properly followed.
Model code factor
The associations pointed out that a significant number of appointment orders, especially in districts such as Chennai, Tiruvannamalai, Ariyalur, Dharmapuri and Tirunelveli, were dated February 25, 2021, and issued on February 26, the day when the model code of conduct for the election came into force. No appointments can be made when the model code is in force without clearance from the Election Commission of India. A case in point was the appointments in Tirunelveli district. M. Sankarasabapathi, general secretary, Tamil Nadu Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare Department Teachers’ and Wardens’ Munnetra Sangam, which is based in Madurai, alleged that the orders were issued in a hurry in the district on the night of February 26 by the office of the District Adi Dravidar Welfare Officer.
“After we intervened and brought it to the notice of the Collector, the issuance of the orders was stopped. However, the same recruitment orders were issued soon after the model code was lifted,” he said. According to him, the appointments in the district originally included the names of at least three hostels that did not exist. “Subsequently, the persons appointed to these hostels were allowed to take charge at other hostels,” he said.
Mr. Sankarasabapathi said his association petitioned the Minister for Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare, the Chief Secretary and the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption.
K. Manuel, president, Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe Government Employees’ Welfare Association, said a person recruited for a vacancy in Chennai was appointed in Tenkasi on February 25. “This specific case has been taken to the Madras High Court by another applicant,” he said. Mr. Vivek said the violation of the norms appeared to take place even after the new government entered office, as was evident from the recent transfer of teachers without counselling. “We have sought an appointment with the Minister in the coming week to highlight all these issues.”
