Simhapuri Bhavitha' to help job-seekers

Nellore: To prevent outsourcing agencies from fleecing unemployed youth, a society christened as ‘Simhapuri Bhavitha’ has been formed under the auspice of the district administration to directly hire skilled and unskilled persons required for various government departments in Nellore district. The initiative became inevitable after some outsourcing agencies were found pocketing crores of rupees transferred to them towards the payment for PF, EPF, ESI and Insurance other benefits to employees for the past six years. They also evaded payment of service tax.

In addition to this, the agencies were also found collecting huge sums for placements from job seekers and even blackmail those already employed by them for additional money. District collector R. Muthyala Raju, an IAS-2006 topper, who had become well-aware of the activities of such agencies while working as the joint collector in East Godavari, came up with this solution as he had done in East Godavari district.

Mr. Muthyala Raju said his focus is on educated unemployed from lower strata of the society, especially Girijans, since elders discourage higher education citing jobless graduates in the community. According to the Collector, Simhapuri Bhavaitha is meant to provide suitable employment opportunities to unemployed youth in public and private organisations. The selection is done purely on merit following the rule of reservation, after giving a wide publicity.

Departments will release the remuneration of the outsourcing employees to the society and the organisation, in turn, would disburse the salaries to the outsourcing employees, besides paying EPF, ESI, PT and service tax etc. Moreover, 453 outsourcing employees, already working in various departments, have been brought under Simhapuri Bhavitha to streamline statutory matters.

Further, it is aimed to provide training in various trades/ skills through government institutions or by private organisations as pre-placement training. A database will be maintained with the grievance cell of all petitioners seeking employment and also the applications received through paper publicity for appointment of different posts. So far, 6,240 youth have registered with this society and 115 of them have been hired in different government departments.

Those recruited include a woman who had contracted AIDS after blood transfusion and the widow of a man killed in road accident in Saudi Arabia, according to C. Subhramanaym, Chief Executive Officer of Setnel and member secretary of the society.