Chennai, Oct 1 (IANS): The Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) will terminate 18 employees who were recruited without proper papers. These employees were issued appointment orders just a day before the model code of conduct for Tamil Nadu Assembly polls had come into force on February 25.
The CMDA has already given notice to all the 18 employees to explain why their services should not be terminated. The notice, according to CMDA authorities was served oon Monday.
The 18 employees are given 15 days period to respond to the notice, sources in CMDA told IANS.
These employees, according to information available, did not process the required qualifications and were also not coming under the age bracket that was mandatory for recruitment to CMDA.
There were candidates who were above the upper bracket age of 30 years among the 18 who were given appointment orders as well as some who did not have the mandatory qualification of a degree for the Junior Assistant post. Written tests and interviews were conducted for the posts and finally, the appointment orders were given to those who had political patronage, sources said.
The CMDA has already given a chargesheet to two senior officers of the CMDA who were involved in the recruitment.
The previous government appointed 18 people just a day before the model code of conduct after applications from more than 60,000 young people were received for the posts of Junior Assistants, steno grade typist, field man, and messenger job vacancies.
Sources in the CMDA told IANS that the employees who were recruited for Class IV and Class III level postings lacked even the minimum eligibility to be appointed for these posts.
R. Balamurugan, Retired professor of Economics and social activist and anti-corruption crusader based out of Chennai while speaking to IANS, said: "The employees who join service through backdoor has to be terminated. After 60,000 jobless youths applied and written tests and interviews were conducted and they appointed people according to their whims and fancies. It is shocking to notice that there are people whose age does not fall under the mandatory upper age limit and some don't even have a degree which is the minimum requirement that the CMDA has advertised for the post. This means that justice has been subverted and the CMDA is now taking a correct decision and such bold decisions will prevent more people trying the easy route to get a government job."