HC suggestions on selection for village assistants

The Madras High Court today made a series of suggestions to Tamil Nadu government regarding appointment of Village Assistants and said the selection process could not be soley based on interview and confined to employment exchange.
Justice D.Hariparanthaman, allowing two writ petitions he heard at the principal bench in Chennai, suggested fixing class X pass as the minimum qualification for the post.
Since the post of Village Assistant belongs to the lowest cadre, selection could be made on marks obtained in 10th standard and for this the government should make amendment in the special rules.
The Judge observed that making selection purely on the basis of interview would lead to arbitrariness, especially, when there are a lot of interferences from political and other circles.

"No appointment for public employment should be made solely based on the interview. Such a selection is violative of the Constitution," he held.
He also said the selection should be made after calling for applications through "Tom Tom" (beating drums and making announcement) or newspapers or radio or TV so that all aspirants get an opportunity.

Apart from this, the local Village Administrative Officer could also put up a notification in his office.
Further confining the appointment within the village causes difficulty in the matter of application of rule of reservation also. He said taluk could be taken as a unit for the purpose of reservation.

With the transportation facility improving, rules like one should be able to ride a bi-cycle have become redundant, the judge said.
Petitioners M.Govindaswamy from Dharmapuri district and V Rajamani of Cuddalore District, who were eligible for the post as per norms, sought to be appointed as Village Assistants.