The state Assembly's Committee for the Welfare of Scheduled Caste (SC) Thursday recommended that recruitment rules for certain posts in Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation (GMDC), reserved for SC candidates, be modified. The committee said these posts are not being filled by SC candidates because as per rules, to qualify for the job, they require to be trained in underground mining and Gujarat does not have necessary facility for the same at present. In its second report to the current Assembly, tabled Thursday, the committee recommended that candidates be exempted from producing a certificate related to underground mining. The 10-member committee is headed by former minister and Bardoli MLA Ishwar Parmar. The report said that a GMDC representative has informed the committee that recruitments are being done under the provisions of Indian Mines Act, Mines Regulation Act and Metalliferous Mines Regulations, 1961. The representative maintained that for certain posts, a candidate must have underground mining training and needs certificate for the same, the report added. It further said that candidates with such qualification are rare in Gujarat and as per laws, candidates from other states cannot be considered as SC members. Therefore, such posts have remained vacant, the committee was informed, the report stated.
