Bhubaneswar: A significant staff shortage looms over the Odisha government as more than 98,000 positions remain unfilled across various departments, as disclosed in the state Assembly on Tuesday.
In a written response to the House, Pritiranjan Gharai, the Minister of Rural Development, Skill Development, and Technical Education, provided insights into the staffing challenges. A staggering total of 98,348 posts are currently vacant across 41 government departments.
The Health department faces the most acute shortage, with 26,815 positions lying vacant, as reported by the General Administration & Public Grievance (GA & PG) department. The School and Mass Education department also grapple with a significant staff deficit, with 21,844 posts awaiting fulfillment.
In stark contrast, the Department of Industries has only one vacancy, representing the lowest number of unfilled positions among the government departments.
In response to the staffing crisis, the state government has decided to raise the upper age limit for recruitment from 32 years to 38 years for various posts in the calendar year 2024. This move aims to broaden the pool of eligible candidates and address the staffing gaps across departments.
However, regarding a query about further increasing the upper age limit to 42 for government job aspirants, Minister Pritiranjan Gharai clarified that the state government has not received any proposal in this regard as of now. The discussion over potential measures to attract and accommodate more candidates in government service continues amid the ongoing staff shortage challenge.