20,000 more vacancies in Karnataka Government Jobs; Services affected
Bengaluru: Karnataka has recorded an increase of 20,466 vacancies in government jobs this year, with data revealing that one-third of sanctioned posts in the administration remain unfilled. This shortage has led to significant delays in public service delivery.
Of the 7.72 lakh sanctioned government posts in the state, 2.76 lakh remain vacant, compared to 2.55 lakh last year. The Congress party had pledged in its 2023 election manifesto to fill all vacancies within a year, but 19 months later, this promise remains unfulfilled.
The finance department clarified that hiring is being approved on a "case-to-case" basis. However, mounting fiscal constraints, particularly due to over Rs 63,000 crore expenditure on 'guarantee' schemes, have slowed recruitment under the Siddaramaiah-led government.
Criticising the situation, Karkala BJP MLA V Sunil Kumar highlighted the impact on essential services, citing an example from Udupi district. “With just two employees handling land conversion applications, a service costing Rs 2,000 is being completed at Rs 25,000 due to delays,” he said.
The agriculture department is among the hardest hit, with a 65% staff shortage. Darshan Puttannaiah, Sarvodaya Karnataka MLA from Melkote, expressed concern over the situation, stating, “Government employees are overworked, often putting in 12-15 hours daily. Vacancies are pushing citizens to seek services through outsourcing or corruption.”
Currently, over 96,000 Group ‘C’ and ‘D’ jobs, including stenographers, typists, and drivers, are being outsourced.
R V Deshpande, chairperson of the Karnataka Administrative Reforms Commission, remarked that the government should not be viewed as an employment agency. “While some departments need recruitment, others lack sufficient workloads,” he said, emphasising rising administrative costs.
The Congress government isn’t the first to face criticism over recruitment promises. In November 2022, then BJP Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai had announced plans to fill one lakh vacancies within a year, a promise that also went unfulfilled.
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Traffic fraud: Fake 'no-entry' sticker racket busted in Delhi, mastermind among 3 held
New Delhi (PTI): Police here have busted a crime syndicate involved in traffic fraud and extortion, arresting three people including the alleged mastermind who sold fake stickers to help commercial vehicles bypass no-entry restrictions, an official said on Saturday.
The police said they dismantled a third organised syndicate linked to traffic-related frauds, with the arrest of Rinku Rana alias Bhushan, his associate Sonu Sharma and Mukesh Kumar alias Pakodi, who was also connected to another extortion syndicate.
According to the police, Rinku Rana was running a well-organised network that facilitated the movement of commercial goods vehicles during restricted hours by selling fake 'marka' or stickers for Rs 2,000 to Rs 5,000 per vehicle every month. The stickers were falsely projected as authorisation to evade traffic challans.
During raids, the police recovered Rs 31 lakh in cash, property documents worth several crores of rupees, over 500 fake stickers and six mobile phones allegedly used to operate the syndicate.
The crackdown followed a complaint filed by a traffic police officer in April this year after a commercial vehicle tried to evade checking by producing a fake sticker claiming exemption from enforcement action.
Investigation revealed that social media groups were being used to coordinate the illegal movement of vehicles and alert drivers about traffic police checkpoints, police said.
"A parallel system was being run to cheat drivers and vehicle owners while undermining traffic enforcement. On the basis of evidence, provisions related to organised crime under the BNS were invoked," a senior police officer said.
Sonu Sharma, the police said, managed social media groups through which stickers were sold and real-time alerts were circulated regarding traffic police movement. He also acted as a link between Rana and drivers operating in the field.
In a related development, Mukesh Kumar alias Pakodi, an associate of Rajkumar alias Raju Meena, who was earlier arrested under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), was also apprehended.
Mukesh allegedly helped extort money from transporters and was involved in blackmailing traffic police personnel by recording enforcement actions, the police said.
Investigators alleged the syndicate led by Rajkumar deployed drivers to deliberately violate traffic rules and secretly record police officials during challans, later using manipulated videos to extort money under threat of false allegations.
The police said that in total, eight accused belonging to three different organised crime syndicates linked to traffic frauds and extortion have been arrested so far.
Further investigation is underway to trace the remaining members, conduct financial probes, and analyse digital evidence recovered during the raids, officials added.
