Status report sought on plea to fill SC/ST backlog vacancies in Dindigul

MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court recently sought a status report from the state government on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL), which sought direction to fill the SC/ST backlog vacancies in all government departments in Dindigul district. The litigant, P Ashok Kumar of Dindigul, submitted that the Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare department passed a G.O. on April 20, 2022 to fill up nearly 10,402 vacant posts reserved for SC/ST people in the government departments in the state.

Through the G.O., the government had directed the departments to conduct a special recruitment drive for the said purpose by following the rules prescribed in Tamil Nadu Government Servants (Conditions of Service) Act, 2016, he added. Though the government, in a reply to his letter in June 2022, stated that steps are being taken to fill up the vacancies, several hundred posts allotted for SC/ST community are still vacant in the state, Kumar claimed. Stating that the government is yet to conduct a special recruitment drive despite the G.O., he sought direction for implementation of the G.O., particularly in Dindigul district. A Bench of justices D Krishnakumar and R Vijayakumar, who heard the plea, issued notice to the authorities concerned and directed them to file a status report within three weeks.