LG sets July 7 deadline for promotion process of PM Package employees

Holds meeting with Admn Secys, DCs, SPs

Deptts finalize seniority lists, DPCs under process

Sanjeev Pargal

JAMMU, June 21: Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha today set July 7 deadline for completion of promotion process for Prime Minister’s Package employees, which is one of the major demands of the staff in addition to their shifting to safer areas following killings of Rahul Bhat, an official in the Revenue Department and Rajni Bala, a Government teacher hailing from Samba, by the militants.
The Lieutenant Governor set the deadline at a high-level meeting with the Administrative Secretaries, Deputy Commissioners (DCs) and Senior Superintendents of Police (SSPs).
During the meeting, Sinha reviewed implementation of promotion of the Prime Minister’s Package employees and their posting to safer areas like district, tehsil and sub divisional headquarters, the directions for which have already been issued.
Official sources told the Excelsior that the Administrative Secretaries and the Deputy Commissioners briefed the Lieutenant Governor about the progress made on promotion of the Prime Minister’s Package employees.
“Majority of the Government Departments have finalized the seniority list and meetings of the Departmental Promotional Committees (DPCs) are under process,” sources said.
Asking the Departments to expedite the completion of promotion process to all Administrative Secretaries and the Deputy Commissioners, Sinha fixed July 7 as deadline for completion of promotion process of the Package employees, sources said.
“The decision will bring a major relief to Prime Minister’s Package employees who have been demanding promotion for many years but were denied the same leading to stagnation among them which will now be removed,” sources said.
They said all posts under the Prime Minister’s Package have been re-designated as divisional level posts in Kashmir for maintaining spirit of the Package.
The new structure, as per the sources, will provide avenues for in-situ promotion to all PM Package employees as per eligibility and seniority.
Sources said implementation of the scheme is being monitored at the highest level to ensure that the eligible employees avail the benefits of the scheme at the earliest.
They added that in addition to the promotion, the Lieutenant Governor also reviewed posting of the Package and Jammu-based employees in safer areas of Kashmir division. The task has almost been completed.
The Government had earlier fixed June 6 deadline for posting of all Package and Jammu-based employees posted in Kashmir division to secure locations especially the district, tehsil and sub divisional headquarters.
However, the non-local employees have redetected the proposal and are demanding that they should be deployed to safer areas outside Kashmir division following targeted killings of Rahul Bhat and Rajni Bala among others. However, the Government is not ready to accept the demand for outside the Valley posting for Package as well as Jammu-based employees. However, it has recently transferred Rajni Bala’s husband from Kashmir to his home district of Samba.
On June 8th, Administrative Council (AC) in a meeting had approved the scheme for promotion of PM package employees. The scheme envisaged maintaining a separate seniority for Kashmiri Migrant employees appointed under the PM package, by respective appointing departments which will run parallel to the seniority of regular employees and will take effect from the date of appointment against the supernumerary posts under the PM Package.
The Administrative Council had sanctioned creation of pre-facto supernumerary posts at corresponding higher levels to pave way for timely career progression of PM Package employees, by reducing the supernumerary posts at lower levels in the same ratio. These promotions will be based on seniority and eligibility requirements as per the recruitments rules.