Appointment of Chandigarh Joint Director Sports: Woman among 3 appear for interview

Deepankar Sharda

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Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 19

Three candidates appeared for an interview for the post of Joint Director Sports, UT Administration.

The interview was conducted yesterday by a panel headed by the UT Advisor and the final decision will be announced after the approval from the UT Administrator.

“Name of the highest scorer (among the candidates) has been forwarded to the UT Administrator for a final approval,” said UT Advisor Dharam Pal.

The post has been lying vacant since November 2019.

Earlier, the interview was scheduled for August 6, but it was postponed.

After getting no response from the UPSC, either on promoting local coaches to the post of JDS or fixing criteria for filling the vacancy, the UT Sports Department had advertised to fill the post (on deputation basis) in March.

The circular was sent to the Chief Secretaries of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and all heads of the UT Administration for appointment of the JDS on deputation.

Sources confirmed that two male and one female candidate appeared in the interview.

As per the requirement, the post is to be filled by a Class I officer by way of transfer/deputation.

The candidate should not be more than 55 years of age (as on January 1, 2020) and should be a postgraduate in Physical Education or equivalent in any sport, with administrative experience, especially in the field of sports.

“The interview was conducted by a panel headed by the UT Advisor. One candidate will be finalised by the competent authority in a day or so,” said a source.

The selection of the candidate is expected to be announced before August 22, as the tenure of the Secretary, Sports, head of the UT Sports Department, is coming to an end.

“Secretary, Sports, KK Yadav, along with other officials, was also involved in the process of selecting the JDS. The post has been lying vacant for over 20 months now and it’s high time that a competent person should get appointed,” said a senior coach.

No effort has been made to promote coaches despite an initiative taken by the Ministry of Home Affairs in 1997.

“As per the Punjab Civil Service rules, also followed by the UT for filling the JDS position, a minimum of 15 years of service in administration or field of sports is required,” said a source. “But in the circular advertised, nothing has been mentioned about years of experience.”