Vacant govt posts in tribal areas to be filled on priority: HP minister

Himachal Pradesh Industries Minister Harshwardhan Chauhan on Monday said vacant government posts in tribal areas, especially in the education department, would be filled on priority to ensure that education is not hampered for the want of teachers.

Presiding over a meeting of the cabinet subcommittee on employment opportunities here, he said that around 70,000 posts of different categories are lying vacant in various departments.

Of these, 16,000 posts are vacant in the education department and the government is looking forward to filling up these posts at the earliest, he said.

The state has two tribal districts -- Kinnaur and Lahaul Spiti. There are also tribal areas in Chamba and Sirmaur districts.

During the last five years, 2,375 posts have been filled through the Himachal Pradesh Public Service Commission and 15,706 posts have been filled through the Himachal Pradesh Staff Selection Commission, according to a statement issued here.

Expressing concern over the slow recruitment process, the members of the cabinet subcommittee, including Revenue Minister Jagat Singh Negi and Education Minister Rohit Thakur, stated that they would examine the mechanism to speed up the recruitment process.

Chauhan reiterated that the Congress party has promised one lakh jobs in its election manifesto. This was the second meeting of the cabinet subcommittee in this regard and the next meeting is scheduled for April 25.