All functional posts to be filled in three months: Virbhadra

All functional posts in government departments would be filled within three months, Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh today told the state Assembly.
Replying to a discussion on a private member's resolution moved by Asha Kumari of Congress, Singh said reorganisation of some circles of divisions was required and the government wants to undertake an exercise to reorganise sub-divisions, divisions and circles of the Public Works Department and Irrigation and Public Health engineering for complete rationalisation.
Observing that there was acute shortage of field and operational staff in several institutions including schools, hospitals, irrigation and drinking water supplies, Singh said this has affected citizen oriented services in many parts of the state.

Himachal government has the highest number of government servants and departments like PWD has a strength of 42,000 as compared to 12,000 in Uttarakhand and only 9,000 in Karnakata, he said.
There is an urgent need for rationalisation of field staff and fill those vacancies on priority, where staff is actually required, Singh said.
Announcing that areas, including Salooni and parts of Tissa in Chamba districts which were excluded from the list of backward areas by the previous government, will be included in the backward areas list, the Chief Minister said, "I propose to amend the earlier notification to ensure all these areas receive the benefits availed by them earlier," he said.

Earlier, moving the resolution, Kumari claimed that more than 30,000 posts at different levels were vacant in government departments, affecting development and implementation of welfare schemes including those aimed at benefiting women, weaker and other underprivileged sections.
Virbhadra Singh also said schools and colleges where strength of students have come down due to opening of new institutions in the peripheral areas will undergo complete rationalisation and posts would be filled on the basis of student-teacher ratio and not merely on the basis of sanctioned posts.