Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Mar 24: Does the submission of reports by the constitutional bodies to the State Legislature every year carry any fruitful purpose? Answer to this million-dollar question is not in affirmative at least in Jammu and Kashmir as this exercise is being seen as an obligation in the official circles only to be forgotten on the very same day.
Like some other constitutional bodies, Jammu and Kashmir Public Service Commission, which was constituted in the year 1957 under Section 128 of the State Constitution, is submitting report to the State Legislature every year containing its performance and recommendations to be followed by various departments for ensuring transparency in the service matters.
Unfortunately, the recommendations of the Commission are not taken seriously by majority of the Government departments despite the fact that they are under obligation to implement the same in order to ensure transparency in the service matters of the Gazetted employees.
This can be gauged from the latest report of the Commission, which has regretted: “Year and again recommendations are made in the Annual Reports highlighting the documents required for the fast disposal of cases of promotion and recruitment by interviews but these have not been heeded to by a number of departments”.
Like in the previous reports, the Commission is left with no other option but to just hope that in future its recommendations would be seriously considered by the departments. The haplessness on the part of this vital Commission is also due to non-seriousness of those at the helm of affairs in the Government as they never bothered to put pressure on the departments for adhering to the recommendations of the Commission.
“What to talk of Government even State Legislature never intervened to scold the departments showing contempt to the Commission”, official sources said.
It is pertinent to mention here that on the request of the Commission, the General Administration Department, some years back, had advised all the departments to ensure compliance to the recommendations of the Commission. But neither all the departments strictly adhered to the directive nor GAD bothered to devise a mechanism to ensure compliance.
“Majority of promotion cases remain pending for want of issuance of a final seniority list, annual performance reports, integrity certificates, recruitment rules and the year-wise break-up of vacancies with reference to the cause of vacancies”, the latest report of PSC said while regretting that these issues raised by the Commission from time to time have not received due attention of several Government departments.
According to the report, the practice of the Government making ad hoc and regular appointments in relaxation of rules against direct quota posts still continues. “Neither copies of such Government orders are endorsed to the Commission nor are details of the posts filled made available to the Commission”, the report further said, adding “in many cases, ad hoc appointees have been regularized or regular appointments are made in relaxation of rules without fulfilling the constitutional requirement of consulting the Commission”.
As per the Government instructions under Article 85 of the Jammu and Kashmir Civil Services Rules, it is wrong to appoint a Government servant to higher post in his own cadre/line of promotion without observing the required formalities of clearance from Departmental Promotion Committee. However, without detriment to public interests, temporary/stop-gap arrangements may be made against such posts in their own pay and grade that shall not last beyond six months.
However, officers placed in OPG continue beyond 6 months in blatant violation of rules and spirit of judgment of Apex Court of the country, the report said.
“Many administrative departments in general and Health and Family Welfare, Public Works and Revenue Departments in particular have made OPG arrangement on pick and choose basis”, the report said, adding “this pick and choose policy is not only unfair and detrimental to those left out, but also results in litigations and invariable adverse orders from the courts”.
Grades have been released by the Administrative Departments like Industries and Commerce, Agriculture, Sericulture and Tourism without consulting the DPC/PSC which is against the statutory rules, the report said.
As far as seniority lists of employees are concerned, which is a grave issue in majority of the departments, the PSC is of the opinion that some departments accord seniority on the basis of roaster points, which is neither the rule nor the spirit of the Reservation Rules.
“The Recruitment Rules of most of the departments are obsolete and don’t meet the changing requirements”, the report said, adding “in many departments the Recruitment Rules were framed way back in Sixties while as in several other departments the rules are so complex that it becomes difficult to consider officers for promotion”.
The Commission in its annual reports is touching each and every aspect like disciplinary proceedings, departmental examinations and Vigilance clearance etc during the past many years and making recommendations but majority of the departments are not ready to mend the ways.
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