Fayaz Bukhari
Srinagar, Mar 16: Over 1600 Engineers including some Chief Engineers are working on adhoc arrangements in various departments especially Roads and Building (R&B), Irrigation and Flood Control and Public Health Engineering Departments as Government is violating its Service rules and Supreme Court guidelines.
There are over 1600 Assistant Engineers, Assistant Executive Engineers, Executive Engineers, Superintending Engineers and even Chief Engineers in different departments who are working on adhoc basis for several years and some even for a decade.
In order to deal with the service issues of the State cadre employees, the Government in 2011 formed (Govt order no. 515-GAD of 2011 dated 27-04-2011) Human Resource Management (HRM) in the departments of Public Works, PHE, Irrigation and Flood Control, Power Development Department, Health and Medical Education Department and Rural Development Department.
The purpose of the formation of the HRM in these departments was to finalise the seniority lists of Engineers at all levels and conduct the DPCs to regularize the adhoc promotions. The HRM was also supposed to deal with APRs, Departmental inquires and Vigilance cases. But the HRM has not helped so far in tackling adhocism in most of these departments.
An AEE told Excelsior that the HRM is only interested in transfers as it has issued 6000 transfer orders in past three years in R&B Department only. He said that few years ago an officer was shifted from HRM in R&B Department for non-performance but even after that nothing has changed for good.
According to the Government of Jammu and Kashmir Service rules and directions of Supreme Court, in one of the landmark judgments in a case, “Suraj Prakash versus State of Jammu and Kashmir”, the adhocs are to be regularized after six months.
An AEE told Excelsior that they were employed through Recruitment Board in 1988 as Junior Engineers but are technically still JEs. “After serving as JEs for 12 years, we were put as Incharge AEs for six years. In 2006, we were elevated as incharge AEEs but technically we are still JEs after serving the department for 28 years”, he said.
The worst hit by adhocism are the departments of R&B and PHE, Irrigation and Flood Control, Urban Environmental Engineering Department (UEED) and Power Development Corporation (PDC). The AEE said that some of his colleagues are on the verge of retirement but they are still technically JEs.
Even the Chief Engineers of R&B, I&FC and PHE in Kashmir are working on adhoc basis as Incharge Chief Engineers for several years. They are confirmed Executive Engineers for almost over a decade now.
The juniors who are non-Gazetted in R&S, PHE and I&FC Department are drawing more salaries than their seniors. “They get Time bound promotions after every 9 years but Gazetted cadre neither gets Grade nor Time bound promotions”, said an AEE.
An Executive Engineer in PHE said that they have been recruited through Recruitment Board but over 60 Engineers who didn’t qualify through Recruitment Board were employed directly in Housing and Urban Development Department, JKPCC, SMC and Rural Engineering departments through backdoor appointments. “These Engineers are enjoying regular promotions and grades without concurrence from the Public Service Commission (PSC) while we are suffering”, he added.
Follow our WhatsApp channel