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Irregularities in selection of Panchayat secretaries

By Our Staff Correspondent

CHANDIGARH DEC. 11. Following revelation of major irregularities in their selection process, the Punjab Government has decided to terminate the services of 909 Panchayat Secretaries selected and appointed between 1996 and March 2000, it was officially announced here today.

The decision was based on an inquiry conducted by the Financial Commissioner, Rural Development and Panchayats, on the directions to the Chief Secretary by the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

An official spokesperson said the irregularities included appointment of 909 candidates against only 700 posts for which an advertisement was released. It was also found that there was no proper maintenance of records of the applications.

Other discrepancies included non-availability of details such as name, parentage and address in respect of a large number of candidates, selection of individuals whose names did not even figure in the interview list, and selection of a number of underage and overage candidates.

Instances of candidates with lower marks in the written test were invited for the interview while those with higher marks were ignored and post-dated entry of marks to benefit favoured candidates was also exposed.

In view of this, the State Government decided to terminate the services of all 909 Panchayat Secretaries. It would shortly initiate a fresh selection procedure which would include a written test and interview for about 1,100 posts of Panchayat Secretaries.

To ensure completely fair and transparent selection, both the written tests and the interviews would be conducted by respective zilla parishads under the direct supervision of the Deputy Commissioners in all districts.

He said a single date would be designated for the test and the interview throughout the State.

Those eligible to apply afresh would include the 909 Panchayat Secretaries and the 470 Panchayat Secretaries whose services were terminated earlier.

In addition, all candidates who had earlier applied for these posts would be eligible to sit for the written test.

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