- Recruitment of backlog posts started during Digvijay government
- Now recruitment period extended for the 21st time
Kanhaiya Lodhi, Bhopal
The special recruitment campaign started over two decades ago in 2002 to fill vacant posts for reserved categories in MP. When it started there was a Congress government in the state and Digvijay Singh was Chief Minister.
Then there was a change in power in the state and a BJP government came three consecutive times. In 2018, a Congress government was formed under the leadership of Kamal Nath for 15 months, but the government changed in between and a BJP government returned to power. In the assembly elections of 2023 a BJP government was formed once again. If the series of special recruitment campaigns did not change amidst all this. The special recruitment campaign, started from the time of the Digvijay Singh government, is still going on. The government is continuously increasing the campaign’s duration and trying to fill the vacant posts, but the posts never get filled. In such a situation, the government has had to extend the duration for a record 21st time, by one year. Actually, the intention of the special recruitment campaign was to fill the vacant posts for reserved categories, especially SC, ST and other backward classes and disabled people in a short time by running a special campaign.
When the time originally allotted for filling the backlog, carrying posts forward and filling vacant posts for SC, ST and OBC and disabled people had first passed, the campaign’s duration was extended in the tenure of the then Chief Minister Digvijay Singh. The first order for extension was issued on 10 September 2002, and this process has continued ever since.
When were the orders issued
10 September 2002
11 July 2005
31 July 2007
23 February 2008
15 January 2009
23 July 2009
7 August 2010
18 July 2011
15 June 2012
10 July 2013
14 July 2014
15 July 2015
21 July 2016
10 July 2017
18 July 2018
9 March 2019
4 July 2020
17 September 2021
21 July 2022
15 September 2023
6 Chief Ministers, but format unchanged
The format of the order that the General Administration Department is issuing for the special recruitment campaign has been almost the same for more than two decades. During this period, the state has seen the tenure of 6 Chief Ministers, including Digvijay Singh, Ms. Uma Bharti, Babulal Gaur, Shivraj Singh Chauhan, Kamal Nath and Dr. Mohan Yadav.
More posts becoming vacant than being filled
While recruitment is being done for backlogs and to carry posts forward, the biggest issue is that more people are retiring than the government recruits, meaning more posts become vacant. The government claims that out of 17 thousand posts of backlog and carry forwards, 7 thousand posts have been filled and 10 thousand posts are still vacant. The General Administration Department once again issued an order on 24 July, in which the time for filling these posts was extended by one year until 30 June 2025. It was the first order of Chief Minister Dr. Mohan Yadav’s tenure. One of the major reasons for the posts remaining vacant is the lack of qualified candidates. Candidates are not available who meet the established criteria, thus, the posts remain vacant.
