The maximum number of unfilled vacancies
3393 is in the Home department, followed by
1268 in Defence Department,
2988 in Revenue Department, and
1425 in Finance Department.
Railways is the only one in the ministry’s list that has zero OBC backlog.
Of the 10 key Ministries/ Departments, which together employ more than 90 per cent of Central Government Employees, Nine have a large number of unfilled vacancies in the OBC category, the Government has told a Parliamentary panel.
In a written reply to the Select Committee of Rajya Sabha, whose members have been demanding that the OBC quota be enhanced beyond the mandated 27 per cent; the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions said 11,797 unfilled or ‘backlog OBC vacancies’ exist in key Ministries/ Departments.
The maximum number of unfilled vacancies 3393 is in the Home department, followed by 1268 in Defence Department, 2988 in Revenue Department, and 1425 in Finance Department. Railways is the only one in the ministry’s list that has zero OBC backlog.
The vacancies exist despite special drives by the government to fill them. The 10 key Ministries/ Departments had 40,562 vacancies, of which 28,765 were filled by 31-March-2017 this year.
The ministry told the panel that OBCs representation in ministries/ departments of the Central government, including their attached and subordinate offices, has, as on 01-January-2016, improved to 20 per cent from the 14.85 per cent of 01-January-2011.
As per analysis of figures, Railways which had 2204 backlog vacancies, filled it up entirely by March, 2017; and the Financial Services department under the Ministry of Finance, which had the maximum backlog vacancies at 14455, recruited 13030 OBC candidates.
The Home department filled up 8164 of 11557 vacancies and the HRD 571 of 1557 vacancies. The Urban Development department could only fill up 95 of the 692 backlog OBC vacancies.
The meetings of the panel also saw demands to break the 50 per cent ceiling on reservation and doing away with the creamy layer in the OBC quota.
While the government made it clear that it was for the state governments to decide the percentage of quota in states, a number of members rued the fact there was “a lot of difference” in quota in various states.
The demands were raised in a number of meeting of the panel since April, 2017, sources privy to the proceedings of the panel said. Angry over the responses of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Congress member B K Hariprasad went to the extent of calling it a “toothless ministry” that “cannot do anything”. CPI member T K Rangarajan wondered why some states provided 40 per cent while others were able to provide 69 per cent reservation.
Members pointed out that while it is 69 per cent in Tamil Nadu, 50 per cent in Karnataka, 40 per cent in Kerala and 38 per cent in Andhra Pradesh, in Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Jharkhand, the reservation is less than 20 per cent. [With input from Indian Express Delhi edition dated 16th July 2017]