Govt draws flak for rehiring retired bureaucrats when 6 lakh youth unemployed
MANDI: Himachal Pradesh Chief Secretary Prabodh Saxena was set to retire on March 31, 2025.
As March 30 and 31 are holidays, a farewell party was scheduled for Friday (March 29). However, just hours before the event, he was granted a six-month service extension, raising fresh questions about the government’s priorities.
Notably, Saxena is not the first officer to receive such an extension. The Himachal government has rehired retired bureaucrats earlier too even as nearly 6 lakh youth remain unemployed in the state.
When questioned in the Assembly about the extensions granted to retired officials, the government chose not to respond.
The growing trend of granting service extensions to retired officers has sparked outrage, especially among job-seeking youth who have been waiting for employment opportunities.
Outrage over cancellation of JOA-IT recruitment
In a move that further fuelled discontent, the Hamirpur Selection Board cancelled 319 JOA-IT (Clerk) job recruitments, which had already attracted nearly 1 lakh applications. The abrupt cancellation has left thousands of aspirants in limbo.
The Himachal Pradesh government, meanwhile, has raised an MLA’s salary by approximately ₹70,000, with ministers and the chief minister also benefiting from pay increases.
Lawmakers from both BJP and Congress supported the hike and the amendment bill was passed unanimously.
JOA-IT paper leak led to disbanding of selection board
The recruitment process for 319 JOA-IT (Clerk) posts, initiated in 2022, faced a major setback when the exam was leaked on December 23, 2022.
This led to the dissolution of the selection board. Despite a huge number of applicants, the government abruptly cancelled the recruitment process, citing administrative reasons.
Munish Sood
