Jaipur: Department of local bodies (DLB) on Wednesday cancelled the ongoing recruitment process for sanitation workers. DLB director Kumar Pal Gautam issued the orders, citing administrative reasons for the decision. This is the third instance of the recruitment process being stalled or cancelled. DLB has not announced when the recruitment process will resume.
Calling it a victory for the Valmiki community, deputy chief of State Sanitation Workers Commission, Deepak Dandoriya, said, "This is a win for the entire Valmiki community. Our youth stood with us in this struggle. We express our gratitude to the govt on behalf of the community."
On the other hand, leaders of unions of non-Valmiki sanitation workers expressed frustration with the decision. Labour union leader Rakesh Meena said, "Repeated postponement and changes in rules are unfair to the unemployed. The govt should adhere to both the original and amended rules to ensure all applicants are given an opportunity. The irregularities caused by former union president Nand Kishore Dandoriya led to this problem. Strict legal action must be taken against him, or we will launch a major protest against him and the govt."
Rajasthan govt announced recruitment of 23,820 sanitation workers across the state, with the application deadline set for Nov 27. This included JMC Greater, which had the highest number of sanitation worker positions with 3,370 vacancies. There were 707 positions in JMC Heritage, 550 in Sikar, 417 in Jodhpur South, 345 in Jodhpur North, 390 in Alwar, 410 in Bharatpur, 470 in Ajmer, 407 in Udaipur, 1,037 in Bikaner, 836 in Kota South, 448 in Kota North, among 185 urban local bodies.
The mandatory requirement of experience certificates led to protests by the Valmiki community. In Jaipur, sanitation workers boycotted work for seven days. Following this, the recruitment process was suspended in Jaipur on Dec 30. However, the protests gradually spread across the state.