The department of personnel and training (DoPT) under the central government has refused to reply to an RTI query on the number of backlog vacancies against sanctioned posts for SCs and STs in different ministries and departments.

RTI activist Venkatesh Nayak had filed an online application with the DoPT in April to seek the number of backlog vacancies in reserved posts based on the pay scale. The DoPT did not provide the data, forcing Nayak to file an appeal that, too, failed to yield the information.

Sandeep Mukherjee, the first appellate authority, had on May 27 informed Nayak through a letter that his application was handled by two central public information officers (CPIOs) of reservation divisions I & II.

The application was first dealt with by CPIO Ajay Kumar Sinha, an under secretary who pleaded that the information was not available in a compiled form. He transferred the application to Charu Vijay, another CPIO.

“However, the information regarding the backlog vacancy was not furnished. Smt. Charu Vijay, CPIO, is directed to furnish the available information in respect of the backlog vacancies as already furnished to Parliament in reply to Parliament questions to you,” Mukherjee’s letter stated.

Two days later, Vijay sent a letter to Nayak stating that more than four lakh backlog reserved vacancies had been filled up since 2016. However, she did not share the data
on existing backlog vacancies in various ministries and departments.

However, the DoPT has told the parliamentary committee on the welfare of SCs and STs that it has been collecting the backlog data online from the ministries since 2023.

According to the report of the committee tabled in Parliament in December last year, the DoPT has issued instructions to all ministries and departments to constitute an in-house committee for the identification of backlog reserved vacancies, study the root cause of such vacancies, initiate measures to remove the factors causing such vacancies and fill them up through special recruitment drives.

“...From January 1, 2023, onwards, all the ministries/departments have been requested to submit online data regarding backlog reserved vacancies,” the parliamentary panel’s report said, quoting DoPT officials.

“The government has been collating data from the ministries and departments. Such data should be made available to the public. Despite the RTI application and appeal, the DoPT has preferred to block the data,” Nayak said.