Panaji, Nov 24 (IANS): Alleging that Rs 30-40 lakh was demanded from the candidates seeking jobs in the Public Works Department for Junior Engineer and Technical Assistant posts, the Congress in Goa on Friday filed a complaint with the Vigilance Department, requesting for an investigation into the matter.

Srinivas Khalap, General Secretary of Goa Pradesh Congress Committee, has written to the Vigilance Department in this regard and has sought action.

He has said that a former PWD minister was allegedly involved in a job recruitment scam, which according to him should be thoroughly investigated.

"This is with respect to the alleged job recruitment scam concerning 350 posts of Junior Engineer and Technical Assistant in the PWD. The leading newspapers have widely reported about the scam in recruitment of jobs in the PWD and this has led to suspicion, anxiety and anger among the people of Goa, wondering whether the recruitment was based on merit or otherwise," Khalap said in his complaint.

"Demand was put forth to the candidates amounting to anything between Rs 30 lakh to Rs 40 lakh for each post. This clearly indicates that the selection was done in an opaque manner and the jobs were literally sold," the complaint further reads.

"Considering the serious nature of corruption involved in the PWD job scam, the Congress demands a thorough enquiry by the Directorate of Vigilance in the entire scam involving all concerned persons involved in the recruitment scam," it said.