Cabinet decides to fill up 362 posts, despite KAT order

Despite Karnataka Administrative Tribunal asking government not to undertake a fresh selection process via KPSC, the cabinet today decided not to change its stance of filling up 362 posts of gazetted probationers owing to cancellation of the selected list of 2011 batch.
"Under the given laws, the state government does not have any power to interfere in KAT's order, asking the government not to undertake a fresh selection process. Instead, the government will consider the court decision in this regard," Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister T B Jayachandra told reporters here.
Yesterday, KAT had passed an interim order of status quo asking the government to refrain from filling up 362 posts of gazetted probationers owing to cancellation of the selected list of 2011 batch, prepared by the Karnataka Public Service Commission.

The cabinet on August 7 had scrapped the 2011 provisional list of gazetted probationary officers for group A and B services and ordered re-examination, after a Criminal Investigation Department probe reported large-scale malpractices.
Replying to a question, Jayachandra said the cabinet decided to give him the responsibility of looking into the terms of reference made in the Justice B K Somashekar final report on 2008 church attacks.
"The issue came in for discussion during the cabinet meeting and the home department has given me the responsibility of looking into the terms of references made in Somashekar final report," he said.

There is a difference between the preliminary and final report, he said, noting that while sitting in the opposition then, he and Siddaramaiah had raised questions over the Somashekar report.

The Christian community led by Archdiocese of Bangalore had called the final report on 2008 church attacks as "unfair" and had "not done justice" to the minority community.
Even Congress expressed surprise over the Commission giving a clean chit to the police and Bajrang Dal, who they alleged were involved in the church attacks.
Further the Minister said, under the provisions of the Corporate Social Responsibility, government as a policy planned to invite corporates to invest and take up the task of maintaining government buildings at tourist locations.

To a query, Jayachandra said this step if implemented has the potential to generate Rs 12,000 crore, which would help promote tourism. "It is becoming too difficult for the government to maintain such buildings at 46 tourist destinations across the state," he said.