Avtar Bhat
JAMMU, June 5: Total adhocism prevailed in all the Engineering Departments of the State, where engineers are promoted on higher posts even above the level of Chief Engineer but never regularized on the same post even after attaining the age of their superannuation.
Though it may sound incredible but is a fact that hundreds of engineers in Power Development Department (PDD) working on higher posts are drawing their pay on junior posts for years together. The problem is not confined to PDD only but Works Department as well as Hydraulic Wing of Engineering also.
Even many engineers who were directly appointed as AEs after qualifying the Public Service Commission (PSC) examination and were promoted to higher ranks of XEns and AEEs have not been confirmed on those posts yet.
According to sources, not only 12 Chief Engineers are drawing their salaries on the post of AEEs with charge allowance for over two decades but out of 29 SEs, eight are drawing salaries as AEEs with charge allowance while 21 of them are drawing their pay as AEs with charge allowance as Government has failed to regularize their services on higher posts so far.
Sources said that hundreds of engineers over the years have superannuated on higher posts, like Chief Engineers and SEs but their pension was fixed on junior posts as the Government failed to confirm their services as CEs and SEs during their service period.
The problem is not confined to PDD only but in PWD as well as Hydraulic Wing and other Engineering Departments of the State also where the officers are promoted on higher posts but not confirmed on the same even after their retirement, sources added.
Sources said that in Works Departments a large number of engineers have retired as CEs, SEs and XEns but they were not regularized on these posts till date and are still drawing their pension on the posts of AEEs and AEs on which they were last confirmed.
This is not only injustice with the engineering cadre but also an exploitation of them, sources said, adding the Government has failed to adopt a clear cut policy on the regularization of engineers.
Sources said out of 107 Executive Engineers in the PDD, 67 have been confirmed as AEs while rest of them have not been yet regularized to the basic posts of AEs till date, sources added.
They added that the Department has 400 AEEs and only 101 have been confirmed as AEs while others have not been confirmed as AEs also and out of 263 AEs in the Department, only six have been confirmed to the post while others were yet to be confirmed.
Sources further said that while making promotion to the higher posts a proper methodology is not adopted by the Government but orders are issued in a typical clerical language of Civil Secretariat and the incumbents are placed in their own pay and grade. Despite a long wait many CEs and SEs have even superannuated in their own pay and grade, sources added.
Sources said the Government should evolve a proper mechanism in making promotions and promote the officials on clear vacancies otherwise these engineers have to face lot of hardships in making rounds of Civil Secretariat and Public Service Commission after retirement seeking confirmation on higher posts and some even die without getting the same.
The engineers are demanding that in case the Government is unable to regularize them on higher posts they should be given running grades on pattern of doctors but this demand has also not been conceded till date which has generated a resentment among the engineering cadre in the State.
However, official sources said that for promotion to next higher posts the engineers have to fulfill certain criteria which include that there should be a proper seniority list, the Government should confirm the cadre strength, maintain position of vacancies in the concerned Department, frame APRs of incumbents and seek vigilance clearance etc. But during their service period the engineers remain busy for postings and never bother for their confirmation.
Official sources said the cases of those engineers who fulfill the criteria have been cleared by the PSC.
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