Bending to straighten

Haryana has a long history of various staff selection panels being reconstituted (by way of expansion), abolished, or made irrelevant with the change of government. Each time it is done with the stated purpose of introducing transparency. The Khattar government has added the mandatory chapter to this history by abolishing the Haryana Police Recruitment Board and abandoning a constable selection process that was two years down the line. A fresh process will now be handled by the Staff Selection Commission, of which a senior BJP leader was appointed Chairman recently.

One of the reasons cited for the cancellation of the process is the introduction of reforms — such as a written test, and reduction in the credits for interview that provided a scope for manipulation. These are welcome measures, but the question remains if reforms - as against the undoing of an illegitimate act — need to be done retrospectively. That is what it amounts to when a massive exercise of physically testing 7.5 lakh candidates has been undertaken and 74,233 have been shortlisted for interview. Moreover, this process was largely seen as the first 'clean' recruitment drive in the state. As a consequence of the cancellation, a large number of youth will suffer a loss of opportunity for no fault of theirs, only a familiar but still vague suggestion of nepotism. Besides, if the fresh process takes another two years, the police would have gone without fresh recruitment for four years — a force that is perpetually short of staff. A poor exercise in good governance.

Chief Minister Khattar has promised all recruitments will be on merit. The assertion would have been more reassuring if he had followed standing high court directions on a transparent process in the appointment of selection panel heads, which is the primary 'recruitment' that defines and colours all other. In the current police recruitment, the government could have held ‘fair’ interviews, as that was the only process that remained, especially when it has presented no prima facie evidence of the physical tests being vitiated. Put in place ‘reforms’, but not at the cost of youth's future, administrative efficiency, and public money. Political considerations should not become enemy of good governance.