If Mayor Kuldeep Kumar Dhalor has his way, there will be no more corruption in the recruitment of contract staff in Chandigarh’s Municipal Corporation.
To ensure transparency and fairness in the hiring process of the Union Territory’s corporation, Dhalor has asked officials to hire employees through the Regional Employment Exchange. This, Dhalor reportedly feels, will allow the Corporation to find suitable and qualified talent that fits the eligibility criteria.
The practice will put an end to the prevailing practice of hiring people who have contacts or connections within the Corporation. People are known to bribe contractors, often paying up to Rs 2 lakhs for a job as a driver, sanitation worker or even gardener in the Corporation. Some often take loans to be able to pay the bribe to these contractors.
Dhalor hopes to strictly implement hiring through the exchange so that more locals get jobs and there is no unnecessary exploitation of the poor workers, who often end up paying a sort of yearly fee whenever a new contractor takes over from the old one.
The mayor earlier brought the issue— of corruption in the hiring process of contract staff/outsourced employees in the municipal corporation— to the notice of the Punjab governor and Gulab Chand Kataria, UT administrator.
It remains to be seen whether Dhalor’s intentions will bear fruit and whether actual implementation will take place. It is reported that many regular posts in the Corporation remain vacant.
