Recruitment to Service.

(1) Recruitment to the Service in the respective cadre shall be made by the Government by any one or more of the following methods:— (a) by direct appointment; or (b) by transfer of an officer already in the service of a State Government or the Central Government; or (c) by promotion from Group B Service of the respective cadre. (2) Recruitment to the cadre post shall be so regulated that the number of posts in the respective cadre filled by promotion from Group B Service shall not exceed fifty percent of the cadre strength in respective cadre excluding the posts of Assistant Executive Engineers : Provided that if adequate number of Assistant Executive Engineers who are eligible and fit for promotion are not available, the cadre posts in the respective cadres even beyond fifty percent may be filled up by promotion of members of Group B Service or by transfer as may be decided upon by the Government. (3) In the case of persons who were members of the Service as on the 20th March, 2009 it shall be assumed that the number recruited by promotion from Group B Service is in accordance with the provisions of sub-section (2) and future recruitment shall be based upon this assumption. (4) All first direct appointments to the Service shall be made to the posts of Assistant Executive Engineer. (5) An officer promoted from Group B Service shall be appointed to the post of Executive Engineer. (6) Appointment by transfer of an officer shall ordinarily be made to the rank of Executive Engineer. (7) The selection of candidates shall be made by the Commission, after holding competitive examination, the syllabus for which shall be such, as may be specified by Government: Provided that if the number of candidates is more than twenty times the number of vacancies advertised, the Commission may hold a screening test to shortlist the candidates for the competitive examination: Provided further that a candidate shall not be considered qualified for appointment, unless he obtains not less than forty percent marks in each subject and also not less than fifty percent marks in the aggregate and no candidate who fails to obtain the qualifying marks shall be called for interview by the Commission: Provided further that for a candidate belonging to Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes, the requirement of aggregate marks shall be forty-five percent. Explanation.—When so requested by the Government, the Commission may hold a combined competitive examination for selection to the Service as well as to any other engineering service or services of the State and in such an event, appointments shall be made in the order of merit indicated by the Commission, after allowing persons that are appointed to another service.