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Goa: City of Panaji hires 6 staffers without government nod | Goa News – Times of India

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PANAJI: Cash-starved Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP) flouted state government recruitment norms while hiring six staff members including a ‘garden consultant’ who was paid Rs 60,000 per month since October 2019.
RTI documents show that CCP did not obtain prior approval from the Department of Urban Development, which, in February 2020, rejected the appointments of some of the workers as there was “no sufficient justification for such an expenditure” for a garden consultant.
Records also show that despite the department of urban development issuing clear instructions on February 2019 to all civic bodies not to engage contract staff or daily wage workers, CCP went ahead and recruited a garden consultant and an executive manager.
It also recruited two municipal engineers, one automobile engineer and one waste management coordinator.
What makes things even more puzzling is that some of these staff members were hired in November and December 2019 while the interviews for the posts were conducted in February 2020. While the waste management coordinator was paid a monthly salary of Rs 30,000, the others were paid Rs 40,000 per month. In March 2020, CCP passed a deficit budget of Rs 11 crore.
The department of urban development immediately red flagged the appointments, with then additional director of urban development Ramesh Naik writing to CCP commissioner Sanjit Rodrigues in November asking why the recruitment process was not followed while hiring. Department of urban development issued another note advising CCP “not to resort to engagements without taking prior approval” which the civic body took a liberal view of.
TOI has copies of the correspondence between CCP and the directorate of municipal administration.
CCP’s own reply to the RTI application admits that “no administrative and financial approval was obtained from the department of urban development for appointment of the six staff members.” CCP justified the appointments saying that they were hired as per the solid waste management rules, 2016.
The appointment of the garden consultant was cleared by the standing committee on September 23 without any advertisement or interview while the remaining five were appointed at the ordinary council meeting held on March 2. The walk-in interviews were conducted on February 13, the same day that the DMA asked CCP not to hire staff without prior approval. CCP commissioner Sanjit Rodrigues conducted the interviews along with two CCP municipal engineers.



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Broke Swiggy guy walks 3 km to deliver food, Social media helps him find better job. Heartwarming story is viral

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Social media can be a wondrous place at times. While on most days, its ugly face is on display, on days like today, it sets examples of the power of kindness. In a social media post, a LinkedIn user shared how a delivery executive, in need of money and a better job, bagged one after the users on the platform came together to help the person out.

Priyanshi Chandel, Marketing Manager at tech company Flash, shared an incident about a Swiggy delivery agent who had come to deliver food at her residence. When she asked the late and out-of-breath delivery person, identified by her as Sahil Singh, about what happened, he told her that he had no transport and had to walk 3 km to deliver the order.

He also said that he was out of money and had nothing left to pay his landlord too. Singh told her that he was not looking for money from her but requested her to help him bag a job. He said that he had a degree in Electrical and Communication Engineering, and had worked with Byju’s and Ninjacart before. He had to move back to Jammu during the pandemic.

“I have not eaten for a week, just drinking water and tea to get by. I am not asking for anything, please if you can find me a job, I used to make 25k before, I am 30 years old, my parents are getting old and I can’t keep asking for money from them (sic),” Chandel quoted saying.

She also shared his marksheets and contact number for people to help. His details shared show that he is a 2018 BTech graduate from Mewar University, and completed his schooling from the Jammu and Kashmir state board.

After she shared the details, the comments section was filled with people who stepped up to help. While someone recharged his Yulu account so that he did not have to walk around to deliver food, someone offered a place to stay. Many offered to help him with his applications, while some offered jobs too.

Chandel, later on put an update on the post, and said that he received a job.

However, so far it is unclear what job he has received.

2023 has so far been a year of job losses, an eventual outcome of the pandemic and increased hiring by tech companies. For instance, the SSC MTS 2023 recruitment exam that took place in Uttar Pradesh in May saw over 55 lakh applications for Group D jobs. Numerous candidates who applied for positions such as peon, watchman, gardener had educational backgrounds like BTech, MBA, and Master’s degrees.

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Goa CM, NRI Commissioner writes to MoEF for help in safe return of Goans from Ukraine

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Panaji: Goa chief minister Dr Pramod Sawant on Thursday urged Union Minister for External Affairs Dr S Jaishankar to help in safe return of Goans who are in the Ukraine.

Sawant tweeted “we are concerned about the Goans in Ukraine who are considering to return to India in the light of ongoing Russia-Ukraine crisis. I request Union Minister for External Affairs @DrSJaishankar ji for help in the safe return of Goans. I am keeping track of the situation.”

The chief minister’s tweet comes hours after Goa’s NRI Commissioner Narendra Sawaikar wrote to the Union External Affairs ministry seeking help in return of Goans who are in the Ukraine.

“Many Goans are currently residing in Ukraine due to various purposes including higher studies and due to the ongoing tension between Russia and Ukraine, I have started receiving requests for help and assistance from them to return back to India,” Sawaikar wrote.

The Commissioner further wrote in the letter that advisories have already been issued by the Ministery of External Affairs to Indians currently in Ukraine and our Indian Mission in Kyiy is currently handling the matter.

“Striking note of urgency, the Government of India has recently asked the family members of Embassy officials in Ukraine as well as students and citizens whose stay is not vital , to leave the Eastern European nation amid it’s raising tensions with Russia,” the letter reads.

Sawaikar wrote that the Goans in Ukraine are in touch with this office as they are anxious to temporarily return till the situation normalizes.

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Election Commission announces polling dates and counting days for Vidhan Sabha elections in 5 states

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On Saturday, the Election Commission of India (ECI) announced the dates for the Vidhan Sabha elections in 5 States, namely, Goa, Punjab, Manipur, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

While briefing the media, Chief Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra informed that the elections in the poll-bound States will commence from February 10, 2022, to March 7, 2022. Elections in the State of Uttar Pradesh will be conducted in 7 phases, followed by Manipur with 2 phases. Elections in Goa, Uttarkhand and Punjab will be conducted in a single phase.

According to the Election Commission of India, the votes will be counted on March 10, 2022. ECI informed that all physical campaigning will be ceased until January 15, 2022, in light of the rising cases of Coronavirus.

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