Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Sept 15: Power employees and engineers across Jammu and Kashmir held strong protest at their respective workplaces wearing black badges and arm bands against the callous attitude of the UT administration towards their burning issues.
While Holding placards and amidst sloganeering, the PDD offices reverberated with the demand for implementation of the State Administrative Council decision dated 22-10-2019 which had directed for completing the regularization process within two months. The protesting employees decried the failure of the administration to fulfill the commitments made by the highest decision making body of the Union Territory i.e State Administrative Council.
Further, the agitating employees sought that the suspension orders of the engineers and field staff be rescinded as the enquiry committee has already submitted the report about 15 days back but the reinstatement orders have not been issued till date demoralizing the entire cadres.
Addressing the protest gathering at various places, Sachin Tickoo (convener PEECC Jammu and general secretary JKEEGA) strongly highlighted the plight that all the current Managing Directors/Chief Engineers/Superintending Engineers are Assistant Engineers and most of the sitting Executive Engineers are Junior Engineers in substantive capacity and are only officiating the higher assignments in -charge capacity with no emoluments of the higher positions.
Tickoo said despite vacancy of nearly 400 Junior Engineers against the sanctioned strength of 1200 that was fixed way back in 1981, no recruitment has taken place since last five years. Moreover, the daily wagers of 1998 are still awaiting regularization, even though they have fulfilled all the criteria of DPCs as per the SRO-381 OF 1981 applicable to Power Development Department.
The protesting Power employees and engineers appealed Lt Governor Manoj Sinha to address the burning issues projected by the coordination committee. They said in case the Government doesn’t take tangible steps to resolve their issues, PEECC will be forced to hold the protest march from Panama Chowk to Mahatma Gandhi Chowk on Gandhi Jayanti.
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