Guidelines being violated for postings in plum areas, says Uddhav-led dept

In order to curb lobbying within departments for postings in Mumbai and Pune, the state had formulated the 2015 rules, laying down the priority list for departmental transfers and postings. According to the rules, departments have been mandated to fill up 80 per cent of vacant or available positions in the revenue divisions of Marathwada, Vidarbha and north Maharashtra before assigning postings in the much sought-after Mumbai and Pune divisions.

“There is intense lobbying for positions in Mumbai and Pune, while not many officials wish to work in other revenue divisions. As a result, many posts in backward districts in these divisions remain vacant and development work suffers,” an official said.

Sources said that the orders were issued after Uddhav, when informed about the trend, decided to step in to curb arbitrary recruitment.

Accordingly, department heads and ministers have now been asked to ensure strict compliance of the rules for postings in future.

MPSC says no departmental exams

In another order issued on Tuesday, the general administration department has informed that Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC) won’t be conducting departmental exams from January 1, 2021.

Sources said the decision was taken in light of complaints of delays in conducting some exams. “For departmental exams, the MPSC only plays a supervisory role. The examination and its moderation is conducted by the departments themselves. The government and MPSC agreed that holding such exams at the departmental level itself will curb delays,” said a senior official.

“As it is, only 30 per cent of the departments were taking MPSC services for conducting such exams,” the official added.