Removal of fellows hit govt’s ambitious employment creation schemes: Officials

New Delhi: Projects and schemes for creating 20 lakh jobs, as announced in the 2022-23 Rozgar budget of the AAP-led Delhi government, have been derailed due to the disengagement of 437 consultants and fellows hired by it following the direction of Lt Governor, government officials claimed on Friday.

“Projects envisioning 20 lakh new job opportunities in Delhi have halted following the sudden dismissal of government fellows. Schemes and projects, including redevelopment of six markets, three food hubs and five new policies, have derailed because of the unparliamentary termination of the fellows,” an official said. As a result of the termination of services of the consultants and fellows, the employment creation will suffer an “unprecedented delay”, he added. The Delhi government fellows, advisors, consultants, and other experts played a crucial role in identifying and addressing the key challenges faced by the people of the national capital, officials said.

Their role encompassed extensive market research, data-driven insights, and the formulation of targeted solutions to alleviate the hardships experienced by the people.

As specialists in fields of economics, data analysis, social impact, strategy and implementation, these fellows provided end-to-end solutions for the toughest of the problems faced by the government, they said.

“Dismissal of these fellows and experts had a domino effect on several flagship projects, including the ambitious market redevelopment plans for five iconic retail markets, Delhi Bazaar portal, development of garment hub at Gandhi Nagar, cloud kitchen policy, redevelopment of industrial areas in non-conforming zones, among others,” they said.

The engagement of 437 fellows, consultants, advisors, experts and specialists hired by AAP government, was terminated in July by the services department on the direction of LG V K Saxena for allegedly violating recruitment rules and provision of reservation.

Delhi minister Saurabh Bhardwaj said the fellows were educated at prestigious institutes such as the IIMs, Delhi School of Economics, and Tata Institute of Social Sciences.

“All these fellows were qualified professionals who used to work closely on the public policies of the government. They used to coordinate with the officers and used to do research on the issue,” he said. He added that since the fellows were removed, a lot of government work has been affected.

No immediate reaction was available from the L-G office on the claims.