Shillong, Mar 6: The aggrieved candidates who had successfully cleared the written exam and appeared for the interviews for the advertised posts in Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyaan (RGSA) programme have sought clarification from the recruiting authority on the cancellation of the recruitment.

They have already approached the concerned department for clarification but so far they haven’t received any reply. They have also written a letter to the concerned minister with the signatures of the candidates on the 25th February 2022. They have also written to the Chief Minister’s Office and the Chief Secretary of Meghalaya, but no assistance or reply has been received till date.

They seek justification for the cancellation of the recruitment after completion of written test and personal interviews and have put forth relevant questions that they seek answers to. The candidates have warned that if the recruiting agency fails to provide them with proper justification for the cancellation of the recruitment within 15 days, they will be forced to file for an investigation.

It may be mentioned here that the Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyaan (RGSA) programme by State Rural Employment Society had advertised for four posts bearing the advertisement No.SRES/MEGH.334/2018-2019/39 on 17th September 2019.

A written test for the posts was held on November 18th and 20th, 2020 and 15th December 2020. Following the declaration of results, interviews were held on the 12th and 16th February 2021. Nine months later, a notice of cancellation of the recruitment was published on the SRES website, stating that the candidates were not able to secure 60% marks in all the four posts.

In a press statement, the candidates said the advertisement, posted in the website of SRES, had no mention of the desired percentage of marks for being selected to the various posts.

Demands of the candidates 

The candidates demand that SRES should produce a copy of the recruitment policy which states that cancellation of a recruitment can be made if candidates could not secure 60% marks. Moreover, a record of the recruitment of present staff securing the desired (60%) marks should exist and those not securing the required percentage should not have been appointed if the recruitment policy of SRES exists.

They have also asked the recruiting agency if any relaxation has been provided in total marks for the candidates under SC / ST category. If the candidates were found to be under qualified, a reason should be provided by the recruiting authority as to why the recruitment process was not cancelled at the stage of scrutinising the qualification and documents of the candidates.

They also question the reason for taking more than 9 months to release a notice of cancellation, when the interview concluded in February 2021, even though the candidates were seeking for continuous updates.