Maximum govt: 1 in every 22 Goans a govt servant - Herald

Goa has 61,256 employees; State has the highest number of govt employees per person in the country; halting the recruitment process is not enough, govt flab has to be reduced

PANJIM: Every time Goans speak out against the government, they must remember that one in 22 of them serve the very same government they speak against. With over 60,000 government employees and counting, the government is the main provider, its service all that Goans aspire for, their dreams and ambitions lie at its doorstep and above all, for each of the 22, there are 21 who are directly or through their families paying for them.

With a population of just above 14 lakh the State has nearly 61,256 government employees as per figures with the Directorate of Planning and Statistics as on January 1, 2015. This means that one among every 22 persons is a government employee.

In a move which could affect the forthcoming Legislative Assembly elections, the State government led by Laxmikant Parsekar announced a moratorium on new recruitments.

This is the opposite of the past when in the last two to three elections the ruling parties have wooed voters with government jobs. The question however is that is this temporary halt in recruitment enough when the need really is to cut the flab and actually reduce the number of government servants?

The situation today is such that it has put tremendous burden on the State coffers and the government has to think twice before implementing the VII Pay Commission. Hence, the question arises does Goa need so many employees?

Govt Employees in Goa

Goa has 61,256 employees of which 41,876 are regular employees in government departments, 15,636 in grant-in-aid institutions and 3742 in the public sector

Sources say that since the census figure of 61,256 was of Jan 1, 2015 the figure could have gone up by at least a 1000 in the last one and half year considering the recruitments in Electricity Department and Goa Medical College.

CM: Pay Commission not excuse to stop recruitment

Decision on 7th pay panel to be taken on Friday; 1.1 lakh people will benefit from new pay scales, says Chief Minister

Team Herald

PANJIM: Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar on Wednesday said the decision on implementing the VII Pay Commission recommendations will be taken by the cabinet on Friday.

“We have decided to implement the VII Pay Commission. On coming Friday we will have a cabinet meeting and this issue will be raised. Once the issue comes up the decision of the cabinet will be informed to you,” Parsekar said.

Speaking on the decision to place a moratorium on recruitment, he said, “The pay commission is not the excuse for stopping recruitment. There are 55,000 government servants in Goa but while considering we need to look at not only the government servants that are working but also the people who have retired. This will benefit 1.1 lakh people in the State. I should get an estimate of how much additional money will be required,” he said

Commenting on the recruitment of government jobs Parsekar said, “This is the first government to take such decision and that too just before the elections. In the past governments have tried to give jobs to the people just before elections. I have closed appointments for three months, however, 

I am of the opinion that the appointment of new government employees should be stopped for at least five to six months in view of the betterment of the State. I have said six months but the new government that will come can restart the process,” he said.

Hitting out on the opposition, Parsekar said, “I remember five years back when Congress was in power, even after the code of conduct there were offer letters sent out and inquiry in those cases is still going on.”

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