Gopal Sharma
JAMMU, Aug 31: Worst kind of adhocism persists in the J&K Cooperative Department where no Departmental Promotion Committee (DPC) meeting was held during last over 15 years while at least a score of officers retired during last one and half year from the post on which they had joined the service about 30 years ago.
Showing hardly any regards to the LG Administration’s directives to all the Administrative Secretaries on March Ist this year, with regard to holding regular DPCs and regulate the otherwise, derailed process, the senior officers at the helm of affairs in the J&K Cooperatives Department did not pay much attention towards this issue, thus aggravating the miseries of the junior officers who were left to face victimization and injustice for decades.
The then Chief Secretary had specifically directed all the Administrative Secretaries to clear all the bottlenecks and streamline the process of promotions so that the directions of the Lieutenant Governor are implemented in time bound manner but things failed to move smoothly in some departments including J&K Cooperative Department.
“As far as the DPC meetings are concerned, several Government departments have acted upon the instructions of the Chief Secretary but still there are several departments which are dilly-dallying on the same, notwithstanding the fact that at present Jammu and Kashmir Public Service Commission is functioning at full strength and its assistance can be easily sought in respect of promotions at the Gazetted level,” official sources said.
Sources further revealed that the several aggrieved officers held the post of Assistant Registrar (Gazetted) in the substantive capacity from 29-4-1999 and a few even from 1990. Their seniority was finalized twice during 2003 and 2005 in the category of Assistant Registrar Gazetted. Some similarly situated their colleagues figuring ahead of them in the list, were inducted into KAS on the clearance/promotion as Deputy Registrars by the DPC/ PSC.
“Last Departmental Promotion Committee meeting with Public Service Commission was held in 2006, where in Assistant Registrars (Gazetted) were figuring ahead of these officers in the final seniority list issued vide Govt order No. Coop of 2005 dated 01-04-2005, and were cleared against the promotion quota for their substantive appointment against the post of Deputy Registrars and its equivalent.
But during the intervening period, at least, 18 Assistant Registrars among the left over officers were figuring in the final seniority list of 2003 and 2005, were placed as In charge Deputy Registrars/ District Officers in `own pay and grade’ and they were never regularized/ confirmed till date, despite the fact that all of them today stand retired, technically as Assistant Registrars ,” sources added.
“It may not be extraneous to mention here that the Cooperative department has 51 posts of Dy Registrars and its equivalents in the ratio of 25:25 promotion and direct quota, respectively. Against 25 deputy posts under the promotion quota DRs, no officer for the last over seven years is working in the substantive capacity,” the sources regretted.
“Since 2006, the aggrieved officers have been struggling for their genuine and justified cause, but the people at the helm of affairs failed to provide them justice and take up their case before PSC and properly respond to the queries/ observations raised by them. In fact, during 2012-13 the necessary spade work was initiated, where by the annual performance reports, Vigilance clearance, integrity certificates were sought from these left over officers falling in the consideration zone, figuring in the final seniority list of 2005. In the meantime, the authorities at the helm of affairs started cursing the Sept 2014 deluge, attributing the inaction to the non-availability of the records in the Administrative department to the Kashmir floods,” sources added.
It further said that the authorities were assured of every help to reconstruct the record besides making available the photo- copies of all the Govt orders issued from time to time which could help in rebuilding of the necessary inputs for holding of the DPC. The authorities had also been attributing the non-convening of the DPC with the Public Service Commission to the updating/ amendments in the Gazetted Service Recruitment Rules.
As per Govt order No. 1311 -GAD of 2001 dated 9-11-2001, ” APR of all the officers should ordinarily be preserved for a period of five years, after the date they cease to be in Govt service as result of retirement, dismissal, removal, termination of service, death etc. They may however, be preserved for a longer period for reason to be specified in each case under order of Govt in the concerned Department.”
“Keeping in view the above factual position, the deficiencies may be over looked and dispensed with, one of the aggrieved officers said.
He further said that on receipt of the case file the PSC conveyed its reservations to Administrative department in October 2019, but the Administrative Department instead of attending the latter on its own, referred the same to the office of PSC and till date the fate of the case is not known. After the lapse of over two years now, the observations have not been furnished to PSC for the reason best know to the people at the helm of affairs.
It has been learnt that observations of the Commission are of technical nature and do not refer to any grave deficiency. The retired officers have been granted pension by the competent authority in lieu of their satisfactory service which indicate about fairness of their work and conduct. With the inaction and casual approach of some officials at the helm of affairs, the process of DPC has been stalled/ derailed in the department, the aggrieved officer said.
Secretary, J&K Cooperative Department, Yasha Mudgal when contacted said that she was aware of the matter and has taken up fresh initiative to hold DPC of these aggrieved officers.
Replying to question regarding delay of over 15 years in holding DPC by the department, the Secretary said, she took over the charge of the department hardly few months ago. It will be difficult for her to respond over the long delay for which she was not responsible, but maintained that after the matter came to her notice, she took fresh initiative.
“DPC is a complicated issue. Moreover, PSC is also involved in it. The Commission had raised some queries and the same have been replied accordingly. All the obstacles are being cleared and the DPC of these officers will be conducted shortly,” Yasha maintained.
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