The Jharkhand chief minister’s secretariat has directed the state urban development and housing department to take appropriate steps on the delayed recruitment of 141 junior engineers for the Jharkhand Urban and Industrial Development Corporation (JUIDCO), according to a report by Times of India – Ranchi.
The direction followed a complaint filed with the chief minister’s public grievance cell by aspirant Sanjay Kumar on October 22. The recruitment was advertised in 2018 for contract-based positions comprising 93 civil engineers, 23 electrical engineers and 25 mechanical engineers.
Applicants paid a fee of Rs 2,000 each while submitting their forms, but the recruitment process had not been completed several years after the advertisement, the complaint stated. The CM secretariat directed Sunil Kumar, principal secretary of the urban development and housing department, to take appropriate action on the matter.
JUIDCO is involved in the development and implementation of urban infrastructure in Jharkhand. The recruitment was intended to strengthen its technical workforce across civil, electrical and mechanical functions, although the report does not specify the projects or programmes for which the proposed engineers were to be deployed.
According to the complaint, aspirants had approached the department secretary several times with the required documents but did not receive a resolution. Leader of Opposition Babulal Marandi had also written to the department regarding the recruitment, but the applicants’ concerns remained unresolved, the report said.
The delay has become particularly significant for candidates who are approaching the maximum age limit for the advertised posts. The complainant stated that several aspirants were facing mental and financial difficulties because of the uncertainty surrounding the recruitment process.
The case highlights the administrative consequences of leaving technical recruitment unresolved for several years. For applicants, the delay affects employment prospects and the validity of a process for which they had already paid and submitted applications. For an urban infrastructure corporation, prolonged vacancies can also complicate the availability of technical staff, although the report does not establish whether any specific JUIDCO project was delayed because of the recruitment.
The report said a copy of the letter issued by the CM secretariat was available with the newspaper. The urban development and housing department is now expected to take the next steps on the recruitment process, including determining how the 2018 advertisement will be handled and communicating the decision to the applicants.
