Admn Secretaries asked to furnish all information to GAD
Nishikant Khajuria
JAMMU, Dec 5: In a significant development, Government of Jammu and Kashmir is learnt to have sought details of any pending issue relating to Assured Career Progression (ACP) of the employees.
Official sources told the Excelsior that all the Administrative Secretaries have been impressed upon to provide details of any pending issues of any service under their administrative control relating to ‘Assured Career Progression’.
Along with the details, the Administrative Secretaries have also been asked to provide brief summary note indicating year- wise financial implications as well as justification of the same for enabling the General Administration Department to place the matter for consideration of the Establishment-cum Selection Committee.
An Office Memorandum (MO) in this regard was issued last week by the General Administration Department on the direction of Chief Secretary Arun Kumar Mehta, sources added.
While elaborating, sources said that the Chief Secretary’s direction for seeking details of any pending issue relating to ‘Assured Career Progression’ was issued after the Agriculture Production Department submitted a proposal for consideration of Establishment –cum-Selection Committee relating to ACP for the members of Jammu and Kashmir Agriculture (Gazetted) Service owing to long drawn litigation faced by the service, which has led to non-finalization of regularization and confirmation at all levels.
Proposal of the Agriculture Production Department was recently submitted to the Chief Secretary after its clearance by the Finance Department.
After examining the matter, sources said that the Chief Secretary desired to discuss all pending issues relating to Assured Career Progression in respect of all the departments, if any under consideration or not resolved.
Pertinent to mention here that some departments, including Agriculture Production, Education Department, etc have no Assured Career Progression or Time Bound Promotion leading to stagnation in the cadres with the result the affected employees are bound to work in the same grade pay for years.
For example in the Jammu and Kashmir School Education Department, both Teachers and Masters avail the benefit of financial up-gradation and non- functional time-bound/in-situ promotion, but there is no such scheme in place for Plus 2 Lecturers. It takes almost 20-25 years of long service for a Plus 2 Lecturer to be placed in the next higher grade i.e. Principal as a result of which Lecturers are supposed to work in a particular grade for a long period of their service. Even as the School Education Department had submitted a proposal paving way for upgradation in the pay matrix level of Plus 2 Lecturers, the same was purportedly rejected by the Finance Department because of its monetary implications.
The 7th Pay Commission recommendations, which were accepted by Central Government and all States and UTs including J&K, allow financial enhancement/up-gradation to all employees of Central Government, States and UTs through Modified Assured Career Progression (MACP).
J&K Government move on seeking details of pending issues of any service relating to Assured Career Progression of the employees, if followed by a positive action on the same, is likely to benefit thousands of the employees, who are deprived of Assured Career Progression/Time Bound Promotion.
However, on the other hand, employees of Agriculture Production Department are critical of the Government response on the proposal submitted for consideration of Establishment –cum-Selection Committee relating to ACP for the members of Jammu and Kashmir Agriculture (Gazetted) Service. They have apprehension that the move would delay their own case, which has been cleared by the Finance Department and does not need any further clarification.
“If the Government desires to discuss pending issues relating to Assured Career Progression in respect of all the departments, let it be done separately without further delaying a decision on our case,” said S S Jamwal, former Director of Agriculture Production Jammu.
Follow our WhatsApp channel
