The Rubber album, crippled by serious lack of staff, especially field officers, is finally moving to occupy several of its long black vacancies.
In its latest communication on Friday (June 13), the Ministry of Business and Industry of the Union granted approval of 97 new employees, of which 46 offered officers and 29 scientists in three categories. N. Hari, an executive member of the Rubber Council, confirmed that the development said that the recruitment unit is part of the wider plan to re -open several closed field offices in the state.
“The Board of Directors has already completed the procedures for appointing 40 new off -road officers and another dose of 46 will be received under this announcement,” he said.
“Irrelevant accusations”
Mr. Hari also rejected as an unjustified accusation, often hovering by political leaders from the left and right and part of the media that the rubber plate is dismantled and the cultivation of rubber moves to the northeast states.
Officials of the Rubber Council also claim that the newly accepted field officers will most likely be deployed in Kerala, the largest producer of the natural rubber in the country. “Since the previous dose was published in the northeast, we expect most of the new officers to be assigned to Kerala, where the lack of critical is lacking. The lack of labor has seriously influenced several services, including the implementation of the rubber program for the production of rubber (RIP),” said the official source.
In order to emphasize the urgency of the situation, the officials noted that only three field officers currently serve the entire Changanassery area, which stretches from Malappally in Pathanamthitta to Vaikom in Kottayam. Similarly, the company of the Guma producers (RPS) across the state, including Kanjirapally, Heartland of Guubber Pultivation, raised similar concerns.
In order to use government programs such as RPI, growers must have their demands verified by field officers, a process that now seriously hinders the lack of employees.
Huge tension
The sources inside the Board also admit that the implementation of these programs without adequate labor has brought a huge load to the institution. The total strength of the Board of Directors, which was 1,649 in 2019, dropped to 905 by 2023. Almost 550 jobs, 137 for field officers, remained unoccupied for years.
Meanwhile, growers follow the new recruitment initiative with cautious skepticism. Many people are afraid that hiring new employees without updating the outdated recruitment rules could prove ineffective.
“At present, the Council has only 42 off -road officers, of which only 10 in Kerala, against the sanctioned power of 174.
“The proposal for the revision of these rules was submitted to the government four years ago, but has remained since then,” he added.
Published – 14 June 2025 20:12
