Cabinet nod to appoint 150 vehicle inspectors

Decks have been cleared for direct recruitment of 150 motor vehicle inspectors with the Cabinet clearing the proposal.

The Cabinet decision has come as a breather for the department reeling under severe staff crunch. The department has already amended the Cadre and Recruitment Rules to commence direct recruitment at the earliest. Motor vehicle inspectors are the backbone of all enforcement activities conducted by the department.

Officials claim that enforcement activities, road safety programmes and even day-to-day functioning were getting hampered due to staff shortage. According to the officials, out of 2,729 sanctioned posts, 1,819 were lying vacant. The department is short of 317 inspectors across 57 regional transport offices and 15 check posts.

But a case pending in the Supreme Court may prove to be a stumbling block to proceed further. The Karnataka High Court in 2012 stayed appointment to the posts of  MVIs after a job aspirant approached the court claiming that the number of posts for which applications were invited had been reduced arbitrarily on the directions of the then transport minister in 2009. The petitioner had submitted that the number of posts were reduced without Cabinet approval. The matter is now pending before the apex court. The Cabinet took the decision on February 19.

‘Positions are vacant’
Speaking with Deccan Herald, Transport Commissioner Ramegowda said, “In any case, the two things–direct recruitments and the court orders–will not clash. We have been waiting for the case to be disposed of. Even if the SC sets aside the order and upholds the previous applicants’ list, we will still be able to recruit directly as so many positions are vacant. Also, some other posts of the MVIs will be vacant soon as the promotion is due for some MVIs,” he added.