Previous govts provided jobs for money not on merit: UP CM

LUCKNOW Chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday said under the previous governments in Uttar Pradesh, jobs were given on the basis of influence and money and not merit.
Many competent candidates were unable to secure positions in the recruitments because their families didn’t have the financial resources or connections, he further said.
Yogi expressed these views while addressing an event where he distributed appointment letters to the newly recruited youths at a programme held at Lok Bhavan. These youths have been appointed on various posts by a test organised by the UP Subordinate Services Selection Commission.
Appointment letters were given to 1,950 newly selected youths. They included 1,526 Gram Panchayat Officers, 360 Gram Vikas Officers (social welfare) and 64 Social Welfare Supervisors.
“In the last seven-and-a-half-years, there has been no discrimination against anyone in the selection process. Since our government took office, recruitments for government, private sector and contractual jobs have been conducted with complete transparency and integrity. It has contributed to Uttar Pradesh’s rapid growth in various sectors,” the CM said.
He expressed optimism if appointments are made with consistent fairness and transparency during the entire tenure, Uttar Pradesh will emerge as India’s leading economy and India will achieve development and self-reliance by 2047.
“In the past seven-and-a-half-years, the BJP government has successfully completed nearly 7 lakh recruitments in government services,” Yogi said. He attributed this success to creating a secure environment in the state that has also opened up job opportunities for thousands of young people in the private sector.
Earlier, many young people from Uttar Pradesh had to search for jobs across the country and even abroad, Yogi said. “Today, they are finding jobs in their own state, region and even district, allowing them to balance work, family, and household responsibilities,” the CM added.
He emphasised that his government has worked on a comprehensive development plan for the state, in which transparency in the recruitment process played a key role.
“If good, capable candidates are not selected, the system responsible for implementing government schemes would become ineffective. To check corruption, my government decided in 2017 that all recruitment commissions and boards must follow a fair and transparent process, adhering to reservation rules,” Yogi added.
The CM highlighted the pivotal role of gram panchayats in realising the vision of “Gram Swaraj (village self-governance)” laid out by Mahatma Gandhi. Speaking on future goals of the nation, he referred to PM Narendra Modi’s vision for a self-reliant and developed India by 2047.
“The foundation for a self-reliant India starts at the grassroots and our gram panchayats are the building blocks of this vision. The efforts of the panchayati raj department following the 73rd Constitutional Amendment has empowered gram panchayats to undertake 29 different types of development activities,” he said.
“In the past, gram panchayats lacked their own infrastructure and many village heads worked from home, often delaying or missing out on creating and implementing action plans. It led to underutilisation of funds,” the CM said.
“A significant progress has been made in recent years, with over 57,000-gram panchayats in Uttar Pradesh now equipped with gram sachivalayas (village secretariats), complete with facilities like optical fibre, internet, and Wi-Fi. A computer operator, designated as gram panchayat sahayak, has also been appointed to help address village-related issues directly within the village itself,” Yogi said.
Essential services like income, caste and residence certificates should now be available online in villages. The development should not rely solely on central and state funds, but also explore ways to generate local resources, moving towards self-reliance at the village level, he added.
The CM emphasised that every gram panchayat in Uttar Pradesh has the potential to become self-reliant. Speaking on the need for innovative development in villages, he encouraged local bodies to make use of available resources.
“Every gram panchayat has some surplus land and there are village markets that can be developed into rural hubs,” Yogi added. “The village drainage systems do not pollute nearby rivers or ponds,” the CM said while suggesting indigenous treatment methods to keep water bodies clean.
He pointed out that ponds could be utilised for fish farming and other activities that would generate additional income for the gram panchayats.
Yogi instructed the panchayati raj department to prepare a proposal to optimise the use of funds. He suggested that while a portion of central and state funds is spent on salaries/allowances, gram panchayats should focus on generating their own revenue.
In the first phase, the state government would match the amount the panchayats collect from their local resources to further boost development. “If the funds are used effectively, the gram panchayat will become self-reliant, developed and an ideal model for others to follow,” he said.
Yogi emphasised the crucial role played by the social welfare department in uplifting marginalised communities through various welfare schemes.
“The department is providing scholarships to over 21 lakh students and is actively involved in programmes like mass marriages and pensions, which are giving new opportunities to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes,” the CM said.