Congress, AAP MLAs protest at Surat DGVCL office over delay in appointment of electrical assistants

AAP MLA from Dediapada seat in Narmada district, Vasava, and Congress MLA from Vansda seat in Navsari district, Patel, participated in the protest with Surat Congress president Vipul Udhnawala, former Surat Municipal Councillor Aslam Cycelwala and others. Applicants who had cleared the electrical assistant exams of the DGVCL also joined the leaders. The protesters gathered outside the Surat DGVCL head office at Kapodara on Friday. These applicants, who had their names on the merit list declared by the DGVCL in January, have been waiting for their appointment letters since.

A Delhi-based agency has been hired for outsourcing manpower to fill the posts of assistant helpers in the six districts.

The agitating Congress and AAP MLAs interacted with Chief Engineer of DGVCL, M G Surati, and others and asked them to hand the appointment letters to those who had their names on the merit list.

The DGVCL officer said that for now, applicants from Navsari who had made it to the merit list, will be appointed through outsourcing and later, when there are vacancies, they will be given the first chance. Their work experience with the DGVCL will be considered when they apply for jobs later. Applicants from other districts in South Gujarat will be considered in the coming months.

Sources in the DGVCL said that a large number of applicants had appeared in the written and practical exams conducted at Surat head office of the DGVCL at Kapodara on January 19. Over 1,800 applicants cleared both exams, and their names were on the merit list released in January-end. These youths have not received satisfactory answers from the DGVCL head office in Surat when they enquired about their appointment letters.

Talking to The Indian Express, DGVCL Chief Engineer Surati said, “In January, we conducted both theoretical and practical exams for the post of electrical assistant, and over 1,800 candidates made it to the merit list. We obtained the details of candidates from the ITI, which are spread across six districts. This is a general practice that we follow, keeping in mind the vacancies, so that we can place such candidates. We informed both leaders that we will, for now, request outsourcing agencies to hire 35 candidates from Navsari district, and the process will be the same for the other districts in coming months. Their work experience will be taken into consideration when there are vacancies for electrical assistants later.”

Congress MLA Patel then made an announcement on the social media about a ‘Halla Bol’ event, inviting all applicants to join the protest.

Talking to The Indian Express, Patel said, “I was informed that the DGVCL had awarded a contract to a Delhi-based firm to outsource manpower for the posts of electrical assistants in six districts in South Gujarat. This led to the birth of the ‘Halla Bol’ movement.”

“The outsourcing firm will recruit manpower who are inexperienced and not qualified for the post. The work is quite risky. It involves risks of accidents and casualties if an inexperienced person is hired. For regular appointment, the starting salary of an electrical assistant is Rs 25,000, and if outsourced, they are paid Rs 15,000.”

Patel further said: “Chief Engineer M G Surati did not have an answer on the outsourcing. He assured us that those on the merit list would be given the first chance for jobs in DGVCL across different districts, through outsourcing, as they would recommend names from the merit list to the Delhi-based private agency. The process will be similar in other districts in South Gujarat.”

AAP MLA Vasava said, “There are many tribal youths from Narmada and Bharuch districts whose names were on the merit list, and DGVCL were not giving them appointment letters. Meanwhile, Anant Patel announced the Halla Bol event. I called him up and told him that I would also join the protest. The protest was not carried out under any political banner, as it was for the benefit of the tribal community. I will always stand by the tribal community if they face injustice. In the past, Anantbhai and I had jointly protested on different issues related to the tribals and in future too, we will cooperate and stand with each other on such issues.”