BMC says a pithy no to `pity cases’

But a circular (GAD/FOM/16) dated August 16, 2000 issued by the civic administration eliminates all hope from the life of Suraiya and hundreds others like her who apply for consideration under `pity cases’ for a job in BMC. Suraiya could console herself as she has only one mouth to feed. But for the wives of labourers and other employees, the circular literally pronounces the end of decent survival in the event of death of the earning member.

“About 900 applications for jobs are filed under pity cases each year. Out of this, a waiting list is derived and by the end of the year about 50 per cent of those shortlisted get jobs in the civic labour department and about 20 per cent get jobs in the clerical department,” said an official from the civic labour department.

Though the circular has come into effect, the BMC will consider long-pending cases. But the wait for that elusive job is going to be a painfully long one, notes the official. The waiting list also includes 1,200 already interviewed applicants who are the kin of retired civic employees. The backward class has also been brought under the ambit of the circular.

The BMC began considering `pity cases’ from 1970 onwards. The criterion for qualification has been that the deceased’s family should have not more than two earning members. But in May 5 this year, the criterion was made more stringent, limiting the number of earning members to only one.

However, with the new circular, the 30-year-old practice gets scrapped altogether, leaving hundreds of applicants in the lurch and creating a feeling of insecurity in the lives of thousands of others.

Explaining the decision, municipal commissioner V Ranganathan said the concept of recruiting people through `pity cases’ or otherwise does not hold ground in BMC any more. “If a vacancy has to be filled, there are various ways of filling it. One of them is through pity cases. But if there are no vacancies in the first place, where does the question of recruiting arise?” he asked. “The only vacancies that come up once in a while are those for doctors,” he said, adding the move was not influenced by BMC’s heavy deficit.

However, civic observers noted the decision should be a temporary one and the ban could be lifted once surplus staff is covered. “Every year many employees and officials retire, so the surplus staff is taken care of. The administration should have gone in for a temporary embrago,” they said.

Sources from the labour department said the civic administration had not had any recruitments since the last one-and-a-half years. Recruitment only took place in the municipal secretary’s office a few months ago, and this too has been stopped altogether after the then civic chief’s intervention.

Most of the `pity cases’ are for recruitment to the civic labour force and clerical department. “Majority of them are not even SSC pass, so they are recruited as civic labourers. If the applicant has cleared SSC he/she gets to be a peon and for higher qualifications there are post of sub-clerks and clerks,” said an official from the labour department.