THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Finance Minister T.M. Thomas Isaac has said that the State government has reached an in-principle understanding with the Kerala Public Service Commission (PSC) on extending the validity of all recruitment rank lists till May 31, 2011.

He was speaking at a press conference here on Monday about reports in a section of the media implying that the government was allowing the lists to lapse together.

The Minister said no list would be allowed to lapse when vacancies existed. The government had arrived at an informal understanding with the commission and would now write formally to its authorities seeking the extension.

He allayed fears that supernumerary posts would not be created this time in place of the posts that would fall vacant on March 31, the unified retirement date in government service. Such posts, equivalent in number to those likely to get vacant, would be created at one go. There would be no change in the policy followed last year.

Dr. Isaac said the government had ensured recruitment of a record 43,000 people through the PSC last year. The earlier record was 27,000 posts. Further, as against 13,000 posts scrapped by the previous government, the present government had created 24,700 posts over the past four years, which meant that all the talk about the government abolishing posts was unfounded.