Mumbai, Sept. 6 -- The state government will provide employment on compassionate grounds to 9,658 children of government servants who died while in service. The general administration department will hold a special employment drive in the second half of September to achieve the target, officials aware of the matter told Hindustan Times. "Employment on compassionate grounds can be given only in classes C and D up to the age of 45 years," said an official. A drive to provide employment on compassionate grounds was being conducted after seven years, during which time several eligible candidates were denied employment as they had crossed the age of 45, the official added. The scheme to provide employment on compassionate grounds was started in 1976. During the present drive, employment would be given to 5,228 persons in the state government, 725 persons in local self-government bodies and 3,705 persons in zilla parishads. The current chief secretary of the general administration department, V Radha, has initiated several administrative reforms, said sources in the department. The file to provide employment on compassionate grounds would earlier go right up to the chief secretary, but now, district collectors have been given the requisite powers, the sources said. During earlier drives, the department would issue 45 government resolutions which had now been cut down to one, they added. The deadline to apply for these jobs has also been raised from one year of an employee's death to three years. The state government will also enroll 7,000 clerks selected via the Maharashtra Public Service Commission. There is massive shortage of clerks in the state and many clerks have been hired on contract basis to make up for the shortage, said sources....