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Journalism of Courage
AURANGABAD, SEPT 18: Do District Consumer Forums need registrars with an engineering background? Conversely, can non-technical persons handle the checking and verification of weights and measures in various trades in the state? Apparently the posts of registrars and of assistant controller weights and measures are interchangeable.
And the Controller of Legal Metrology weights and measures has, in doing so, upped the ante of a number of candidates who, having appeared for the examination for an assistant controller8217;s post have found themselves appointed as registrars in district consumer forums.
8220;It makesno sense interchanging jobs simply because the grades are equivalent. The posts of the inspector in the same department is equal to that of the office superintendent. But do you transfer candidates between the posts?8221; asks a disgruntled candidate refusing to reveal his identity.
He makes his point when he reveals that he is a B.E., had a teaching job with a higher salary and took up the rigorous technical examinations for the post of assistant controller because it would be more challenging. When the letter came posting him as a registrar, it was too late. He had already resigned his previous job.
According to the Controller of Legal Metrology, R S Negi, the state consumer department had decided on the equal status of the posts of registrars and assistant controller three years ago.
8220;It is a responsible job,8221; says Negi of the registrar8217;s post. 8220;He has to help the president fulfill his function in the interests of the consumer. And as far as I know, all the newly-appointed are performing theirduties well8221;. However, it does not explain why nearly 21 posts for assistant controllers with an engineering or an MSc degree were advertised and taken by the department early this year after a written examination on mass, weights, volumes, spring balances, calibration and operation, thermometers and statistics.
8220;The job of a registrar has to do with legal matters. The person should have an academic background in law. Does this mean that former registrars who have absolutely no knowledge of physics and mathematics needed for calibration and weight verification are performing the jobs of assistant controllers?8221; asks this candidate.
This is the first time that direct recruitments were made for the posts of assistant controllers. Around 30 per cent of the seats are slated to be filled up directly. The rest are to be filled in with departmental promotions. Negi agrees that those who had been working as registrars earlier have been transferred to the posts of the assistant controllers leaving the freshbatch to work as registrars.
According to this candidate one of his friends who was working as an inspector in Nagpur found that petroleum companies were calibrating their tanks without any of the state officials being able to verify them or calibrate it themselves. The loss to the exchequer is unknown. But Negi is unimpressed.
8220;Anyway their technical background was not enough for this highly technical job. All these candidates will have to be sent to the Institute of Legal Metrology at Ranchi for further training and only then will they be posted as assistant controllers,8221; he stressed.
Till then, he says, the candidates will continue as registrars. 8220;Even those who come back with the training will work as registrars. Only when they complete their probation of two years will they be considered for the posts of assistant controllers8221;. With around six of the 21 already sent to the training institute, the others will have to wait for their turn.
