Hyderabad: There has been an inordinate delay in making compassionate appointments in the state, where one eligible family member of a deceased employee is given a job.
In some cases, officials are taking up to a decade to make the appointments, defeating the very purpose of the scheme which is to provide immediate succour to a family due to the sudden death of the breadwinner.
Over 350 applications have been pending in various departments for several years. Employees’ associations have been taking up this issue with the government for three years but in vain.
The Supreme Court had ruled in 2011 that such appointments should be made immediately but it is hardly followed.
The compassionate appointments in the school education department are taking more time compared with other departments.
Members of the TS Progressive Recognised Teachers’ Union, the major teachers union, met Chief Secretary S.P. Singh recently and complained about the delay in compassionate appointments. Union president P. Sarotham Reddy said, “The scheme is not serving the purpose due to the inordinate delay. Some of them have been trying to get the compassionate jobs for eight to 10 years. Their families are facing severe financial problems.” The government on the other hand blamed the families for the delay.
Finance minister Etela Rajender said, “Multiple members from the deceased person’s family seek the job. If officials select one person, the other members oppose it. Requisite educational qualifications are also needed for certain jobs. If not, they cannot be given jobs. All these factors are contributing to the delay.”
He said CM K. Chandrasekhar Rao had given strict instructions to the finance and general administration departments to speed up compassionate appointments.
