Reported by Mrinal Banik
Agartala: Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha on Friday said the state government has provided 20,845 regular jobs since the BJP came to power in 2018 and has taken steps to fill vacant posts across departments despite financial constraints.
Addressing a programme in Agartala for the distribution of offer letters to newly recruited employees under various departments, Saha said 115 more regular appointments were made on Thursday.
“Till date, after our government was formed in 2018, we have recruited 20,845, and today 115 people who are receiving their offer letters are new additions to this. All these are regular jobs,” he said.
The chief minister said another 24,078 people have been engaged through contractual and outsourcing arrangements. “I have come across many aspirants who had been working on contractual basis earlier and, after getting selected through competitive exams, are now in regular service. A good number of women are also in the selection list, which is a matter of great satisfaction,” he added.
“We have initiated the process of filling up the posts which are lying vacant. There are financial constraints because salaries of government employees fall under the head of revenue expenditure,” he said.
Saha said the government is also focusing on capital expenditure and claimed that around Rs 10,000 crore is being spent on infrastructure and development-related works.
Referring to skill development and employment generation, he said the employability rate in the country has improved after 2014.
“When Prime Minister Narendra Modi became Prime Minister in 2014, the employability rate stood at 33.95 per cent. Today it stands at 54.81 per cent. Skill is important. People in each and every sector must hone their skills continuously,” he said.
The chief minister said service delivery to people should remain the priority for government employees and urged the newly recruited staff to remember that salaries are paid from taxes collected from the public.
He also claimed that Tripura ranks first in ease of doing business in both phases of assessment.
Referring to political developments in neighbouring West Bengal, Saha said political decisions are important for public welfare and asserted that “a new dawn” has emerged in the state.
“It was an absurd development in Bengal. The outgoing Chief Minister has scripted history. She lost the elections but refused to resign,” he said, without naming any leader.
Saha also said he would attend oath-taking ceremonies in West Bengal on May 9 and in Guwahati, Assam, on May 12.