Chennai: The Madras high court has ordered notice to the state government on a petition, which sought to quash an order issued by the government to appoint 1,000 retired Village Administrative Officers in the districts on a consolidated pay of Rs 15,000 for a period of one year (or) till the necessity ceases.
Justice V.M.Velumani ordered notice and posted after three weeks, the petition filed by Tamil Nadu Village Administrative Officers’ Association by its state general secretary K.Selvan, which also sought to fill up all the 2,896 vacancies in VAO posts through TNPSC.
According to petitioner, he is working as VAO from 2008 onwards at K.Nerpugapatti village, Karaikudi Taluk, Sivagangai district. The VAO post was introduced by the state government in the year 1982 and the mode of recruitment to the post of VAO is through TNPSC and the TNSPC conducted many examination and selected many persons for the appointment to the post of VAO from 1984 onwards. At present the total sanctioned post of VAO is 12,616 and among the 12,616 posts now 2,896 posts are vacant. The government has not taken any steps to fill up the vacancies. The VAO post is an essential post in respect of revenue department. The VAO is to maintain revenue record, collection of revenue tax, implementation of government scheme and maintain law and order in the village. Due to these vacancies, the existing VAOs are having heavy burden of work like additional charge of villages and in charges of 2 or more villages, he added.
He said the government had earlier issued a G.O in the year 2009 to appoint retired government servants temporarily on contract basis. When the G.O was challenged before the Madras high court, the government gave an undertaking that no appointments should be made under the 2009 by the appointing authorities where the posts were to be filled up by getting names from the employment exchanges. The government also directed that the contract of retired persons appointed in the regular vacancies should be terminated as soon as persons were made available by the recruiting agencies or as soon as the post was filled by promotion/recruitment by transfer. Recording the same, the Madras high court had disposed of the petition. In spite of the undertaking, the government has now issued a G.O dated February 25, 2019 to appoint 1000 number of retired VAOs in the districts on a consolidated pay of Rs 15,000 for one year (or) till the necessity ceases i.e till the appointment of candidates by the TNPSC and also accord administrative sanction for the said appointment. The Petitioner Association sent a representation to the authorities. But, there was no response. Therefore, it has filed the present petition, he added.
