On an overdrive to extend sops before next year's assembly elections, the state government has created 17,000 new posts in the first quarter of the current fiscal year.

The latest addition of 700 new posts in the state home, health, education and minority affairs departments received the state Cabinet's seal on Tuesday. The bulk of the 700 posts will be created in the home department that will see its staff strength rise by 474, said state finance minister Asim Dasgupta. These will include many policemen's posts at new police outposts in some districts.

The health and family welfare department will see itself hiring 189 employees to fill medical and non-medical posts in different subdivisional hospitals of districts as well as government hospitals in the city. The education department will have to fill 25 new teaching posts while the madrasa and minority affairs department will have to fill 12 such posts.

"This is the third Cabinet meeting in the last three months in which proposals to create new government posts has been approved. Altogether, 1,623 posts have been created at this and the Cabinet meetings on April 20 and May 20," Dasgupta said.

If the number of teaching posts created in primary, secondary and higher secondary schools is added to the 1,623 posts approved by the Cabinet, the state has created 17,000 new posts in the first quarter of the current fiscal year, Dasgupta said. "Earlier, 4,458 new posts in primary education and 11,000 posts in the secondary and higher secondary departments have been created. The number crosses 17,000 including the 1,623 other posts that have been created," the minister said.

Also, for the first time, the state government has decided to decentralise the process of registration of societies. "Till now, various societies from far off districts had to come to the city for registration. Now, for districts apart from Howrah, North and South 24-Parganas, the societies will have the opportunity to register under the directives of the district magistrate in their own districts," Dasgupta said.

Source: TNN