Avtar Bhat
JAMMU, Mar 10: The UT Government has rescinded the promotion orders of 116 Agriculture officers in Kashmir valley and 17 in Jammu region which were issued by respective Agriculture Directors of two regions on February 12 and 17 this year respectively.
An order to this effect has been issued by Under Secretary to Government Agriculture Production Department. The Government has issued directives to both Directors of Agriculture Kashmir as well as Agriculture Jammu region that the orders be rescinded forthwith as they have been issued without approval of the competent authority. Both the Directors were further asked to report the immediate compliance in this regard.
Further, the order read that Order No 55 DAJ of 2020 dated 3-02-2020 issued by Director Agriculture Jammu and Order No 45 Estt of 2020 dated 03.02-2020 issued by Director Agriculture Kashmir will cease to exist after March 31, 2020.
Both the Directors have been asked to submit the formal proposals of eligible officers for consideration against the vacant positions of District Agriculture Officers (DAOs)/Sub Divisional Agriculture Officers (SDAOs) or equivalent, along with APRs for the last five years posting details, work and conduct certificates to Administrative Department within a period of 20 days for further appropriate action.
It may be recalled that Excelsior in its February 29 edition had published a story under title promotion orders issued by Agri Deptt snowballs into a major row as granting of promotions on pick and choose basis by ignoring the norms and rules had snowballed into a big controversy with Jammu and Kashmir Graduate Promotee Agriculture Officers Association raising a banner of revolt against what they called the highhandedness of the authorities at the helm of affairs.
The employees of the Department had said the promotions were in total violation of service rules of 1956 and challenged the authority of officers granting such promotions. They opined that the promotions were only given on the pick and chose basis while all other criteria including seniority of the officers were thrown to winds.
The Association, while challenging the promotion orders said that promotions can’t be granted on divisional basis as the officers are in State cadre and the promotions have to be granted on State cadre basis only. Forcefully putting its case before the Government, the Association said that by granting promotions to 116 officers from Kashmir valley alone has marred the career of the officers of the Department serving in Jammu region as they have been totally discriminated against. This, they alleged, was a grave injustice with them.
Commenting on the rescinding of the orders, the Association said that without fixation of seniority of first level gazette cadre post (Class VII), taking into account the five years APRs and Vigilance clearance in favour of officers may be a futile exercise and prove just an eye wash as the names of officers whose APRs are required and cadre wise posts being filled are not clarified in the instructions of Secretary Agriculture Production Department.
The president of the Association, Prem Singh said that the Government has not filled the share of promotions in Class VII of Gazetted Cadre posts as per the rules time to time due to which their career opportunities are hanging in balance. He said large number of posts are lying vacant in Class VII of gazette Cadre and 100 percent posts from Class VI to Class I are vacant since decades.
The Association has demanded constitution of Committee on the pattern of KAS officers and engineers of Power Development Department (PDD) for one time settlement for filling up of the vacant posts of Class VII and finalization of the seniority lists of the officers which is the first and foremost requirement for any kind of elevation under JK CSR 1956 and resolve the three decades old issue of streamlining the Department at the earliest possible.
The Association has also sought intervention of Lt. Governor G C Murmu, Advisor to Governor R R Bhatnagar and Chief Secretary BVR Subrahmanyam in this regard.
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