Sarnaik orders transparent ST hiring of 13,980 posts, probe into fraud in its name

Mumbai: The Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (ST) will soon recruit about 13,980 drivers and mechanical staff on contract. Transport Minister and ST Corporation chairman Pratap Sarnaik has issued clear directions on the recruitment.

He said the entire process must be transparent, impartial and in line with the set rules. Candidates selected through an outside agency must also be chosen strictly according to the eligibility criteria fixed by the corporation. The ST administration should also ensure that no candidate is cheated in the process.

The administration has received complaints that some private bodies are misusing the name of the ST Corporation. These bodies are alleged to be luring needy and unemployed youths with promises of jobs and illegally collecting money from them. Youths who trusted these bodies in the hope of getting a job are being defrauded financially, and the corporation's image is also being damaged. Sarnaik said it was a serious matter that the wrongdoing of a few people was weakening public trust in the ST Corporation.

In view of this, the minister has directed the corporation's security and vigilance department to investigate these illegal activities in the corporation's name thoroughly. The private bodies cheating candidates, and the people linked to them, should be identified, and cases should be registered immediately against the guilty.

Sarnaik made it clear that those financially exploiting unemployed youths in the name of recruitment would not be spared. Transparency and trust in the recruitment process should be maintained, with the protection of candidates' interests placed above all. Action according to rules has been stressed if irregularities are found in the investigation of the private bodies concerned.

The main aim of the directions is that candidates keep their faith in the ST Corporation's recruitment and that no youth is cheated by the lure of a job.