Attempting to create jobs through inefficiencies, thus forming an illusion of social development, will only amount to seeking to maintain the status quo. It is just over two decades since I left the public-sector Hindustan Photo Films (HPF) in Udhagamandalam in Tamil Nadu. HPF is now struggling to survive as digital technology continues to replace traditional film-based technology. Inefficiency thrived there and inferior technology made it worse. But inefficiencies did create jobs. Some of these jobs, however, maintained social norms that perpetuated injustice by setting aside certain tasks to certain sections of society. W e need to take a closer look at the numerous jobs created through inefficiencies since they inadvertently maintain the status quo. After initial training, I was posted to the silver recovery plant (SRP), among the least desired departments. But this was the best thing to happen because I experienced the friction between inefficiency and job-creation and between doing good and reinforcing social evil. To better understand the context, here is a simple description of the work environment. One of the key inputs in making photo films is silver. Inferior technology produced lots of silver waste that was washed off to the SRP. Once the silver sludge was recovered, the effluents were let out to the effluent treatment plant (ETP). The process of recovering the silver sludge was largely a manual process ridden with inefficiency. During this process, the silver sludge often escaped into the ETP. Worse, when pipes broke, rich silver-bearing water often gushed straight into the ETP for days together. Domestic effluents from the HPF township were also pumped into the ETP. Sadly, the massive amounts of stench-filled ETP sludge contained traceable amounts of silver that had to be collected, stored, and processed for silver recovery. Put simply, handling this sludge was a dirty job. There was no mechanised way of doing it in the drying pits; it had to be done with shovels and buckets. Since the ETP sludge was largely domestic waste, HPF employees would not touch it. However, the largely manual process was a potential source of employment. The task was outsourced to a private contractor who employed 10 to 15 men. They were paid wages based on the number of buckets of ETP sludge handled. To make matters worse, the ETP sludge attracted thousands of flies and produced an unbearable stench. Further, to reduce the volume, the ETP sludge was burned in open trays using charcoal, creating even harsher working conditions. Personally, it was difficult to watch these men handling this waste and to see them eating next to where they stored this sludge. These contract labourers in their early 20s belonged to the lowest socio-economic background. They lacked the education or the skills to be employed for any other task. The nature of the work, handling domestic waste, reinforced and perpetuated a social stereotype. I am reminded of an incident that occurred during my stint at HPF. It was a typical morning-rounds affair with my manager. We met an animated committee member of the local Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes welfare association. My manager asked him why he was upset. He pulled out two advertisements put out by HPF on two consecutive days