The junior engineers (JEs) of Power Development Department have decried the government’s “unjustified approach” in filling up of 227 posts to be converted to AEs.
The aggrieved diploma engineers said that government has time and again cited “arbitrary terms of reference by dragging their issue of promotion against the posts of assistant engineers in the department for deliberations in the Establishment-cum-Selection Committee without caring for maintaining the sanctity of cabinet decision dated September 26, 2011.
As per the decision, total 771 posts, 227 of PDD diploma holder engineers were converted to AE posts by corresponding reduction in JE Ist posts.
The engineers said that the cabinet decision and subsequent government order were arrived at after clear-cut recommendations of the then Establishment-cum-Selection Committee to remove the stagnation of diploma engineers with simultaneously shaping the hierarchy at the gazetted level.
The PDD by virtue of government order number 56-PDD of 2012 and government order number 201 PDD of 2013 elevated 159 junior engineers comprising of 158 diploma engineers as I/C AEs on account of special privilege of being JE Ist, thereby leading to apparent distortion at AE level if viewed in the backdrop of the Gazetted Recruitment Rules of 1978 which were remotely applicable on the SE specially created 771 AE posts at that time.
They said the said distortion, though still in place, is fading away gradually on account of retirement, promotion, and expiry of the officials manning these specially created AE posts and these posts are being progressively added to the cadre of AEs which fact has been given due cognizance by the Administrative Department PDD as well by way of release of 20% proportionate share in routine since the implementation of the career progression scheme of 2011.
They said that after a gap of seven years now, the administrative department, “to the astonishment of the diploma engineering fraternity”, is taking a stand totally in contravention to the cabinet decision of 2011 by not only unduly ceasing the 20% share for promotion of diploma engineers at AE level “but also aiming at retrieving the one-time benefit released in favour of diploma engineers in 2011.”
“This unjust and unethical attitude was adopted only after GAD opined to utilise the leftover 68 AE posts in favour of those officials who fulfilled the requisite qualification criteria at the time of issuance of the cabinet decision,” the aggrieved engineers said.
The engineers have sought the intervention of Governor and Chief Secretary in implementation of the latest court direction in its true spirit before proceeding for any deliberations “which are totally unwarranted for.”