Despite being transferred, official kept issuing orders
Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Aug 16: Several transfers and postings without the formal approval of the Advisor concerned have come to the fore in the Agriculture Production Department and taking serious note of the same the Government has issued instructions for keeping all such orders in abeyance.
Official sources told EXCELSIOR that during his posting as Commissioner/ Secretary to Government, Agriculture Production Department Muhammad Mehraj-ud-Din Khan issued several orders of transfers and postings of officials of different ranks without the approval of Khurshid Ahmad Ganai, Advisor to Governor Agriculture Production Department.
Even temporary deployments and attachments of certain officials were made by the officer in blatant violation of the instructions of the Governor’s Administration, which has already issued explicit directions for cancellation of all the attachments in the interest of the administration, sources further said, adding the then Administrative Secretary even passed orders whereby deployments and attachments of some officials were extended by few months without justifiable grounds.
It has also come to the notice of the Advisor that the officer even issued different transfer orders in a single day, which otherwise cannot be justified in any way, they said, adding being Administrative Secretary of the department the officer should have got prepared the list of officials to be transferred from one place to another that too with the approval of the Advisor and then issued single order.
Such a procedure should have been followed even if the transfers were to be delayed by a day or two, sources said while disclosing that on August 10, 2018 the then Administrative Secretary issued six different orders transferring over half a dozen officials.
The most shocking aspect is that the officer issued some transfer and other orders even after the date of his own transfer from the department by the General Administration Department.
This can be gauged from the fact that Muhammad Mehraj-ud-Din Khan was transferred by the Government from Agriculture Production Department vide Order No.1260-GAD of 2018 dated 11.8.2018 and posted as Commissioner/Secretary to the Government ARI and Trainings Department.
However, vide Order No.231/-Agri of 2018 dated August 13, 2018, Mehraj-ud-Din Khan transferred Ajay Sharma, Incharge SMS-III Baramulla and posted him as Incharge SMS-III (SDL) Basohli against an available vacancy with immediate effect.
Similarly, vide order dated August 13, 2018, the officer issued corrigendum to Government Order No.145-Agri of 2018 dated May 29, 2018 extending the transfer and posting of Field Assistants-cum-Surveyor-I of Command Area Development Kashmir in the office of Deputy Director Command Area Development Leh till further orders.
However, in the original order the transfer and posting of Field Assistants-cum-Surveyor-I was made only for a period of six months. “Had the modification of order been imperative the officer should have left it to the discretion of new Administrative Secretary and should have avoided issuance of orders following his transfer”, sources said.
When contacted, Advisor to Governor Khurshid Ahmed Ganai said, “I have received complaints that outgoing Administrative Secretary of the Agriculture Production Department had made transfers and postings without formal approval”, adding “I have issued directions to the new Administrative Secretary to examine the record of transfers and postings and all those orders which have been issued without approval be kept in abeyance”.
Present Administrative Secretary of Agriculture Production Department Manzoor Ahmad Lone said, “some orders have been identified for being kept in abeyance”, adding “the record is still being examined and possibility of more orders being cancelled cannot be ruled out”.
In response to a question, he said, “the entire exercise will be completed within next few days as directed by the Advisor so as to maintain transparency and accountability in the department”.
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