210 apply for one post of patwari in Himachal
Himachal Pradesh ranks third in the unemployment rate in the country and this was evident when at least 2.5 lakh applications were received for 1,195 posts of patwari (village revenue official) in the state recently. With youngsters not willing to let go of any opportunity to land a government job, 210 candidates, including post-graduates, competed for each post for which the minimum qualification is Class 12.
Himachal Pradesh ranks third in the unemployment rate in the country and this was evident when at least 2.5 lakh applications were received for 1,195 posts of patwari (village revenue official) in the state recently. With youngsters not willing to let go of any opportunity to land a government job, 210 candidates, including post-graduates, competed for each post for which the minimum qualification is Class 12.
A revenue department official said the final figure on the number of applicants would be known after October 15 but it is estimated to be between 2.5 lakh and 3 lakh.
LIMITED CHOICE FOR ASPIRANTS
According to the labour and employment department, the state has 8.37 lakh unemployed people. They include 74,000 postgraduates, 1.31 lakh graduates, 6 lakh matriculates and at least 36,000 who have not passed Class 10. Though the state economics and statistical department puts the unemployment rate at 6.8%, the figures compiled by the Centre for Monitoring India Economy (CMIE) till August found the rate to have gone up to 19.2% in Himachal behind 28.7% in Haryana and Tripura 27.9%. The national average stood at 8.4%.
“The high unemployment rate is why everyone is ready for just any government job. We don’t have a choice. We have high hopes from the government but so far it has failed to provide more jobs,” said a postgraduate aspirant, requesting anonymity.
Political parties had promised to generate more jobs in the state in their manifestoes in 2017. The BJP had even promised to look into the demand for reservation in private jobs given the fewer opportunities in the government sector but it has not taken up the matter after forming the government.
VACANCIES TO BE FILLED IN 5 YEARS
As for the state revenue department, of the 1,195 vacancies, 933 are of patwaris in the deputy commissioner’s office, while 262 posts will be engaged in settlement matters. This is besides vacancies for 17 chainmen, who assist patwaris in measuring land, in the settlement department in Kangra and eight in Shimla. The posts fell vacant on December 31, 2018, and are to be filled over five years.
After selection through a written test and viva, the candidates undergo an 18-month training at the Revenue Training Institute in Jogindernagar for which they get ₹3,000 as stipend.
The state government has promised jobs in the information technology (IT), tourism and hospitality sectors for which it has signed memoranda of understanding (MoUs) of more than ₹75,000 crore. It is holding a global investors’ meet in Dharamshala in November and hopes to see more industries being set up.
A budgetary provision of ₹40 crore was made in the 2018-19 financial year under the unemployment allowance scheme. A provision was made to provide unemployment allowance to eligible Himachali youngsters to enable them to sustain themselves for ₹1,000 and in case of 50% or permanent disability of ₹1,500 per month for two years.