Margao: Fourteen months after its recruitment exercise was abruptly aborted, the Margao Municipal Council (MMC) renewed the process of recruiting lower division clerks (LDCs), among others. This has raised eyebrows as the advertisement in the local newspapers inviting applications for the vacancies comes only days after chief minister Pramod Sawant said that all Group C vacancies would be filled through the Staff Selection Commission.
In Aug 2023, the MMC initiated the recruitment process for 43 posts, including eight for LDCs. However, the exercise was cancelled following instructions from urban development minister Vishwajit Rane that the recruitment to all civic bodies be done by govt.
The recruitment cancellation saw Margao MLA Digambar Kamat persuading Rane to reverse his decision.
The revival of the recruitment exercise has invited criticism from various quarters, as they believe the move smacks of nepotism. It is largely believed that some councillors, whose support was solicited by the powers that be to enable the incumbent MMC chairperson to get elected, were promised jobs for their kin in the municipality.
Damodar Shirodkar, known to be Kamat’s trusted lieutenant, switched over to BJP only a month before he was elected the MMC chairperson in Oct 2022. Shirodkar’s election to the post was made possible after state govt took the ordinance route to amend the legislation to effectively do away with the secret ballot for the election of chairpersons of civic bodies, and instead decide the winner by a show of hands.
The ordinance was passed within days of Shirodkar’s defeat in the election for the chairperson’s post by the secret ballot, leading to fresh elections and Shirodkar’s subsequent assumption of charge as the Margao Municipal Council chief.
Echoing the feelings of the local community, social worker and businessman Prabhav Naik demanded that “govt explain to the people of Margao why the LDC posts in the MMC are not filled through the Staff Selection Commission.”