Power Development Department (PDD) diploma engineers have expressed anguish over what they termed “premeditated concealment of certain vital facts while referring the case of promotion of junior engineers as assistant engineers” to the establishment-cum selection committee.
In a statement, engineers said the diploma holder engineers for quite some time due to their prolonged stagnation have been requesting for career progression in the engineering departments.
It added that in order to discuss the demands of diploma holder engineers with regard to their career progression various meetings took place in phases which were attended by the representatives of PHE/I&FC, R&B and Power Development Department.
“After examining all the aspects related to the issue, the department even mooted a comprehensive proposal for consideration of the establishment cum Selection Committee”: reads the para 2 of the recommendations submitted before the Cabinet in 2011 signifying main reason of evolution of the G.O. No 370-pw(hyd) of 2011 dated 30-09-2011 as removing the stagnation of diploma engineers.”
“Qualification service for promotion of Assistant Engineers (created by corresponding reduction of JE Ist posts) shall be the same i.e 5 years of service in case of degree holders and 10 years in case of diploma Holders. This would afford better opportunities of promotion to the Junior Engineers”: reads the recommendation at clause 1, c of the MoM of the Establishment-cum-Selection Committee dated:16 Feb 2010 indicative of establishing of a different qualification criteria for filling of the 227 AE posts in PDD & 544 posts in other engineering departments,” it reads.
“As many as 198 senior most diploma engineer with requisite qualification service of 10 years were eligible for their placement as JE Ist well before the cabinet Decision of 2011- reads the official correspondences between DC(Power) and Administrative Department JKPDD (DC/PD/Adm-I/547-B/194 dated: 08-06-2011) thereby highlighting the main reason of failure of their placement as JE Ist by the department which finally led to non-utilization of the full quota of 227 AE posts created by corresponding reduction of JE Ist,” it added.
“Eligible Diploma Holders have been placed as I/C AEs within 20 % quota prescribed for diploma holders in terms of J&K Engineering Gazetted Service Recruitment Rules of 1978 and there is no violation of recruitment Rules while placing eligible diploma holders as I/C AEs vide G.O. No 24-PDD of 2014 dated: 05-02-2014″ reads the para 3 & 4 of the assertions admitted before the Hon’ble J&K High Court Srinagar under SWP 263/2014. Thus routine promotions have been made after partial implementation of the cabinet decision of 2011 by PDD without any pretext that diploma engineers have exceeded the quota on account of implementation of the Cabinet decision which excuse is being projected now after a gap of seven years for not only ceasing the said promotions but also retrieving the one-time benefit released by virtue of cabinet decision of 2011,” it reads.
“Lastly but not the least, Court Direction under SWP 1726/2018 titled Amresh Kumar Dutta & others Vs State, issued on 29-08-2018 has been totally ignored while carrying out the deliberations which otherwise instructs to release the Grade Ist benefit in favour of all the eligible officials from the date of their eligibility for the same alongwith release of all consequential benefits which includes their elevation against the leftover AE posts which remained unfilled while implementation of the cabinet decision of 2011 by JKPDD,” it reads.
“We fail to understand why only the Administrative Department PDD among the Engineering Departments are adopting a tactics totally against the essence of the career progression scheme of 2011 and how the officials at the helm of the affairs in PDD succeeded to keep the members of the establishment -cum-selection committee in dark and what drives them to take such an unjustified measure for ruining the promotional prospectus of the members of the Diploma Engineers.”
“Repeated projection of facts before the authorities hasn’t yielded any result so far. Before, any decision is evolved, we through the medium of this portal request all the members of the Establishment-cum-Selection Committee especially the Chief Secretary to intervene and decide the issue on its merit,” it reads.