Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Apr 24: Taking serious note of the persistent demand from the Congress as well as National Conference Ministers for employment of their trusted lieutenants after their retirement, Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah, while chairing Cabinet meeting this morning, issued directions for putting a ban on the re-employment of officers and officials in the State administration. The Cabinet also put on hold the reshuffle in the Police Department at the level of SSPs and SPs due to lack of consensus on the proposal mooted by the Home Department.
Sources told EXCELSIOR that soon after the Cabinet finished the routine agenda, a senior Congress Minister projected the demand for re-employment of former Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC) Commissioner, S C Sawhney on the ground that he (the Minister) required an officer of the caliber of Mr Sawhney to smoothly implement the Centrally sponsored scheme—Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA).
However, the ground projected by the senior Congress Minister for re-employment of the retired officer failed to convince Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah, who was hesitant to concede the demand. In the meantime, another Congress Minister stated that re-employments should be considered only in case of administrative exigencies and not as a matter of right, sources said.
“I have nothing personal against my Ministerial and party colleague but Cabinet has to keep in mind that re-employments will discourage the hierarchy down the line”, the Congress Minister, who objected the re-employment demand said, adding “there was already resentment among the educated unemployed youth over large scale re-employments and re-engagements that have taken place in the past and came in the public domain during the recently concluded Budget Session of the State Legislature”.
In the meanwhile, demands were also raised for extension in service of Additional Secretary in the Social Welfare Department and re-employment/extension in services of some officers of the Animal and Sheep Husbandry Department, sources said.
Not only Congress even some National Conference Ministers opposed the extensions/re-employment of the officers and remarked, “the policy in this regard was aimed at meeting administrative exigencies that too in the rarest of the rare case”.
However, the senior Congress Minister didn’t budge from his stand and stressed for re-employment of S C Sawhney, who was very close to the Minister during his posting as Commissioner of Jammu Municipal Corporation.
“During the past five years I have never stressed for re-employment of any officer and this is for the first time that I am demanding the same”, sources said quoting the senior Congress Minister as having told his Cabinet colleagues.
Later, the Chief Minister, while considering the request of the senior Congress Minister and treating the case of S C Sawhney as the last one, issued directions for banning the practice in future.
The General Administration Department, which is under the charge of Chief Minister, was directed not to entertain any such proposal and line departments were directed not to submit any re-employment proposal.
According to the sources, the transfer of 35 police officers of the rank of Senior Superintendents of Police (SSPs), Additional Superintendents of Police (ASPs) and Superintendents of Police (SPs), which was scheduled to be taken up by the Cabinet, was deferred for some time keeping in view some changes desired by the Cabinet Ministers in the proposal of the Home Department.
“As the Director General of Police, Ashok Prasad was required to be consulted in order to maintain proper chain in the proposal of the Home Department after affecting some changes as desired by the Ministers and the police chief was not available in winter capital, the Cabinet decided to put on hold the reshuffle in the Police Department”, sources said.
In response to a question, they said, “a fresh proposal vis-à-vis reshuffle of SSPs, Additional SPs and SPs would be placed before the Cabinet in its first or second meeting after reopening of Darbar at summer capital of the State”.
It is pertinent to mention here that posts of SSPs of Jammu, Kishtwar, Udhampur and Baramulla have been lying vacant for the past quite some time.
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