BHOPAL: Ahead of Vidhan Sabha elections, when chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan plans to hold an event across the state to distribute job letters to one lakh candidates, over 8,000 youths, who had cracked exams of accountants and assistant surveyors' posts in government in 2015, still wait for their appointment letters.

Tragic part is that many of their wives left them after getting divorce as they got married after the selection process was over and confident of postings but did not get job.

Government issued advertisement for the posts of 2,208 accountants for the Rajya Shiksha Kendra in February 2015. After the exam was held in April, list of selected candidates was notified in July the same year.

“Since than we have been running from pillar to post for our appointment letters,” said 26-year-old Rehan Khan, one of the selected candidates.

As Rehan awaits his appointment letter for the past four years after cracking the combined accountant exam conducted by professional examination board or Vyapam, he started facing some personal issues in his life related to unemployment.

Rehan married with a hope that he would soon get the job. But the wife of accountant–in-waiting was not ready to trust his words and left him after obtaining divorce.

“I am not the only one who continues to remain unemployed despite clearing exam and is a single again. I have at least five friends, who had also cleared it but yet to get the job. Their family life has got disturbed due to this and their wives left left them,” Rehan told TOI.

Ajnesh Pal, a resident of Silwani in Raisen, one of the selected candidates, has started working for an ‘NGO’ to earn livelihood. “It’s frustrating as we have given half a dozen representations to the chief minister besides lodging complaint with CM Helpline but in vain,” he said.

Minister of state for school education and skill development Deepak Joshi said, “I understand their plight.”

He said, “The posts were advertised after the requirement of the Union ministry of human resources development (HRD). But the ministry discontinued its programme which is why they were not given jobs.”

“We have already written to the government to accommodate them in other government departments as, in any case, they have cleared the examination conducted by a government agency.”

Besides, 6,603 assistant surveyors also wait for their appointment letters which would never reach them. These candidates in 2014 had also cleared an online test conducted by MP Online Limited, the e-governance portal of the state government.

Commissioner, department of statistics, Chitranjan Tyagi, said that they were “identified” to carry out a project work started by government of India.

“As the requirement of data increased, 13th Finance Commission started a project — strengthening directorates of economics and statistics,” he said.

“The work aimed at the rural and urban youth for collecting data as and when required on the basis of honorarium. Some of them were also given work for the survey of the income

and receipts of panchayats. In March 2015, the support of the 13 th Finance Commission ended and with that they also stopped getting any work, he said.

“Some of us also worked for some days, but later we were discontinued,” said Ramratan Lohia.

“On the contrary, the government earned Rs 20 crore as three lakh candidates had appeared in the exam and the fees was Rs 670,” he said.

