Pune: The Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC) has returned a requisition for 258 posts in the Agriculture Department, causing further delays for aspirants awaiting recruitment.

The decision came after the Agriculture Department failed to comply with the procedures outlined in a 2022 government resolution from the state's General Administration Department. As a result, the recruitment process for these positions is expected to be delayed, despite recent protests by candidates in Pune.

In 2022, the MPSC introduced a new process for competitive exams, opting for a combined preliminary examination for all gazetted Group A and B positions.

Candidates who pass the preliminary exam are then eligible for the main exam and interviews for specific positions. In line with this, a government resolution issued in October 2022 mandated that all administrative departments submit complete requisitions for vacant positions to the MPSC by September each year.

Failure to do so would prevent the inclusion of these positions in the subsequent exam cycle, delaying their advertisement until the following year.

MPSC recently explained that they did not receive the requisition for the 258 posts in the Agriculture Department by December 29, 2023, when the advertisement was released. This omission prevented the inclusion of these positions in the State Service Examination.

Following protests by aspirants, MPSC postponed the examination scheduled for August 25. Sources indicate that the Agriculture Department's failure to follow the established procedures led to the return of the requisition.

The postponement of the examination will slightly impact MPSC's overall schedule. Rescheduling will require coordination with other departmental exams, supplementary exams of educational boards, university exams, and exams of central institutions.

Former MPSC member Dayanand Meshram noted that while the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) rarely postpones exams due to protests, MPSC has faced similar incidents frequently in recent years, which negatively affects the morale of serious candidates.

Mahesh Bade, representing the Students’ Rights Association, called for coordinated efforts between the state government and MPSC to resolve the recruitment issue for the 258 posts in the Agriculture Department. He highlighted that the postponement has caused unnecessary inconvenience to over 220,000 candidates.