Avtar Bhat
JAMMU, Sept 2: Though having a lot of potential for employment generation and changing the fate of people especially the farmers in rural belt, the Department of Animal Husbandry is totally in shambles in the State as no attention was paid by the successive Governments to develop it at par with some progressive States of country.
According to sources, the Department is a victim of apathy of the successive State Governments, mismanagement and the adhocism prevailing for decades together which have led to stagnation of technical staff who years together have craved for their promotions to next higher posts.
The increasing apathy of the Government towards the Department can be gauged from the fact that it has failed to conduct the Departmental Promotion Committee (DPC) meeting on periodical basis to clear the post for promotions to next higher posts, sources said, adding as per the precedence the DPC must be conducted twice in a year but in the AHD no such DPC for clearing the promotions of technical staff to higher posts has been conducted for last five years.
As no proper mechanism has been evolved in making the selections on the basis of strict seniority a total mess prevails in the Department where some senior officers to the rank of Director are holding the charge of two to three posts with the result the deserving officers who otherwise could be appointed on these posts are stagnating on junior posts for years together, sources said.
One of the major handicaps of the Department is that nearly 76 officers of higher cadre from Live Stock Development Officers to Deputy Directors and Joint Directors are drawing salaries from the entry level posts of Veterinary Assistant Surgeons (VASs) as no DPC has been conducted for last five years, sources said. Moreover there is no creation/ expansion of the Departmental institutions like veterinary dispensaries , veterinary hospitals, high tech labs etc which are being run through internal arrangements only, sources added.
Sources said, though the Department has a great potential and is one of the main sectors to tackle the unemployment problem to a large extent in the State, it has lost its utility due to the lack of proper attention from the successive Governments till date.
The Department is presently run on basis of adhocism as no attention is paid towards the growth of in service officers on the basis of their technical qualification and ability, sources said, adding the Line specialization posts for the post graduate / qualified veterinary graduates are nowhere in sight in the Department, although some posts are defined but the subject specialist is hardly posted on such posts.
Sources said the officers in the Department lack encouragement, as their chances for the promotion to higher posts are bleak due to growing stagnation and favoritism. Though having lot of potential of expansion, the re-organisation of the Department has been a distant dream for its employees who have been pressing for the same for years together, sources added.
Sources said not to speak of promotions even the Department has failed to adopt a proper transfer policy and no steps have been taken to have a set procedure for the same. Moreover the recruitment rules framed way back in 1980 have become obsolete and needs to be changed, sources said.
Sources said that the situation has deteriorated in the Department to such an extent that one officer in Kashmir valley is also holding the charge of two more posts of Director’s rank in the Department while the Director AHD Jammu is also holding the charge of another post which is also equivalent in status and rank to the post of Director.
This way the promotion prospects of many senior officers who are at the verge of retirement have been barred deliberately by the Government.
According to sources to benefit its blue eyed boys the Government has thrown standing rules and procedures to winds and adopted a pick and choose policy thus playing with the career of other deserving and senior officers.
Sources said one officer is not only holding the post of Director AH D Kashmir and CEO Live Stock Board Kashmir but is also working as Joint Director Poultry Kashmir.
Sources said the biased approach of the Government in making selections to the higher posts in the Department by preferring its blue eyed boys has been a cause of brewing resentment not only among the senior and deserving officers of the Department but the junior cadres also who feel that under such circumstances they may continue to suffer in future too and see their career totally bleak in the Department.
Sources said the violation of the standing rules in this regard has not been made by the previous Government only but the present Government too did not take any steps to improve the situation and surpassed its predecessors.
Sources said there is mess to such an extent that some senior officers are working under junior officers who managed to get the higher posts after seeking favours from the Government.
When contacted the Commissioner /Secretary Animal Husbandry, R K Bhagat told Excelsior that there was nothing wrong in appointment of the joint director’s as Director AH D Kashmir. Being the senior most Joint Director in the Department no officer challenged his appointment as Joint Director in 2014. He however said that the orders will be issued for the other additional posts being looked after by him within days while the charge of the Chief Animal Husbandry Officer Bandipora has been given by him to another officer recently.
Bhagat said that the main reason for the stagnation in the Department was that no DPC has been held since 1990 and this created many problems.
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