HAMIRPUR/SHIMLA: IN A RUTHLESS single stroke of the pen has crushed the toil, hopes, and years of preparation of over one lakh unemployed youth across Himachal Pradesh.
In an administrative move that has sparked widespread indignation, the Himachal Pradesh Rajya Chayan Aayog (HPRCA), Hamirpur, has formally canceled recruitment across 79 distinct post codes that were originally rolled out in 2022.
The sweeping cancellation erases the former recruitment drive under the pretext of restructuring, sacrificing the state's educated youth at the altar of political transition.
The official order issued by the commission strips away thousands of sanctioned posts without offering candidates any recourse or explanation. According to formal order No. HPRCA-H(2)-2/2024 / 13063, issued under the signature of HPRCA Secretary Dr. Vikram Mahajan, HPAS:
"It is hereby informed to all concerned that the 79 post codes as per details given below which were otherwise advertised by the erstwhile Himachal Pradesh Staff Selection Commission, Hamirpur vide Advertisement Nos. 38-2 dated 24.05.2022, 38-3 dated 06.07.2022, and 38-5 dated 24.09.2022 are hereby withdrawn, in accordance with the recommendations of the Aayog & approval of the Government of Himachal Pradesh conveyed vide Letter No. Per(AP-B)C(4)-1/2010 dated 15.06.2024."
The scale of the cancellation hits the bedrock of essential public services, gutting employment across primary schools, emergency infrastructure, technical institutes, and law enforcement.
Among the wiped-out opportunities are 467 Junior Basic Teacher (JBT) posts under Post Code 1075, 319 Junior Office Assistant (IT) vacancies under Post Code 965, 184 Fireman positions under Post Code 1088, 82 Junior Engineer (Electrical) openings under Post Code 1078, and 28 Sub-Inspectors of Police under Post Code 1087.
Dozens of vocational training instructors, clerical staff, and technical operators across boards like HRTC, HPMC, and HPSEBL have been discarded in one sweep.
A profound and unsettling silence hangs over the hard-earned money that struggling candidates deposited into state coffers years ago.
While thousands of unemployed youth skipped meals and borrowed funds to pay the application fees for the 2022 advertisements, the withdrawal order makes zero provision for refunds, fee transfers, or administrative compensation.
By quietly pocketing the revenue and annulling the recruitment process, the system has effectively penalized law-abiding applicants for administrative gridlock that was never their doing.
The most irreversible tragedy of this bureaucratic reset is the cruel toll it takes on the age limits of thousands of candidates.
Because years have elapsed since the original advertisements in mid-2022, an entire cohort of general and reserved-category applicants has crossed the maximum age threshold during the prolonged freeze.
If these posts are ever re-advertised under fresh terms, these overage candidates will find the doors permanently slammed in their faces, their careers snuffed out without ever being allowed to sit for the examination.
The government's claim of systemic reform rings hollow against the non-committal directive handed down to state departments.
Endorsement order No. 13064 reveals that the state has not even guaranteed that these posts will return to the job market:
"All the respective Requisitioning Authorities are further informed that if they still intend to fill up these post, they may resubmit the revised requisition on the designated online requisition portal of the HPRCA i.e. https://hprca.hp.gov.in, through online mode."
By inserting the phrase "if they still intend to fill up these post", the commission has handed cash-strapped departments an easy escape route to slash payroll and permanently extinguish vacant seats.
Even if individual departments choose to reissue requisitions, candidates will be forced back to square one—navigating endless administrative approvals, roster recalculations, and years of litigation while their youth slips away.
With the next assembly election looming on the horizon, the Sukhu administration's recruitment crackdown risks turning into an electoral lightning rod. Or He is something else in mind as he may come out something bigger to score points, remains unclear.
While the ruling party attempts to craft a narrative of corruption-free governance and fresh beginnings, the ground reality reflects broken promises, stolen years, and administrative callousness.
For the frustrated youth marching across the hills of Himachal, the cancellation of 79 post codes is not reform—it is an outright betrayal of their labor, their dignity, and their future, resented the applicants.
CM needs to clear the air on this issue as sarkari jobs remain the major dream of the unemployed youth in Himachal.
