Ranchi, Feb 21 (IANS) The issues of increasing the retirement age of government employees and filling long-pending backlog vacancies dominated discussions in the Jharkhand Assembly on Saturday.

Clarifying the government’s position, Finance Minister Radha Krishna Kishore said there is no proposal under consideration to raise the retirement age of state employees. At the same time, he assured the House that backlog vacancies would be filled on a priority basis through a transparent recruitment process.

Raising the matter, Janardan Paswan, LJP MLA from Chatra, demanded that the retirement age of state government employees be increased. He pointed out that while the retirement age in Jharkhand is 60 years, doctors and teachers in central services retire at 65.

He also noted that doctors and university teachers in Jharkhand retire at 65 and cited neighbouring Chhattisgarh, where the retirement age has been raised up to 62.

Paswan argued that the state is facing a shortage of personnel and urged the government to consider increasing the age limit.

Responding to the demand, the Finance Minister said that decisions regarding retirement age are taken by states based on their financial capacity, administrative requirements and local circumstances.

He said that while Chhattisgarh may have made its decision based on its own situation, no such proposal is currently under consideration in Jharkhand.

The Minister further said that the state has a large pool of educated unemployed youth and the government, under the leadership of Chief Minister Hemant Soren, is focusing on systematic recruitment.

Increasing the retirement age, he said, would limit opportunities for fresh appointments, and therefore, filling vacant posts with eligible youth remains the government’s priority.

Meanwhile, Congress MLA from Khijri, Rajesh Kachhap, raised concerns over backlog vacancies meant for Scheduled Tribes, Scheduled Castes and Other Backward Classes. He claimed that thousands of reserved posts have remained vacant for years and are not being adequately reflected in fresh recruitment drives.

He demanded that backlog appointments be filled through a clear and time-bound policy.

Replying on behalf of the government, the Minister dismissed claims that more than 50,000 backlog vacancies exist across departments, terming the figures inaccurate.

He said separate recruitment processes are being conducted in each department and assured that backlog posts would be filled on priority in strict adherence to reservation norms.

He added that necessary instructions have been issued to all concerned departments to ensure a transparent and expeditious recruitment process.

–IANS

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