Former Secy LC misuses official position in promotions
Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Dec 2: The former Secretary of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Council (LC), Abdul Majid Bhat, who was removed from the post last month, has misused his official position by promoting Gazetted Officers in the Council which was beyond his competence. The competence to issue such orders was with the Chief Minister or Governor only.
According to the Jammu and Kashmir Government Business Rules (Item 22 of The Third Schedule (Rule 31(1), Secretary of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Council has no powers to appointment or make promotions to the rank of Under Secretary or above.
“Cases relating to the appointment of officers of Legislature of the rank of Under Secretaries and above other than those falling within the purview of the Cabinet shall have to be submitted to the Chief Minister through Chief Secretary”, read the business rules.
“The import of the above rule is that all gazetted promotions of Legislative Council from Under Secretaries to Additional Secretaries have to be approved by Chief Minister in coordination with Chief Secretary. And the promotion of Special Secretary has to be approved by the Cabinet after clearance by establishment cum selection committee”, read the rules.
Only this year, Bhat issued three promotion orders to the gazetted officers of the Council illegally, two of them were issued in favour of Ishfaq Ahmad Wani. He promoted (Order No: 466 LC of 2018 Dated: 28-09-2018) Ishfaq Ahmad Wani as Special Secretary in September this year. This was his second promotion of the year as earlier in April, Ishfaq was promoted (Order No: 209-LC of 2018 Dated: 17-04-2018) as Additional Secretary from Special Assistant. Besides this, the promotion order (Order No: 210-LC of 2018 Dated: 17-04-2018) of 15 officials in Gazetted ranks issued by the Council are also illegal.
So earlier in April this year, Bhat issued promotion orders which should have been issued by then Chief Minister, Mehbooba Mufti, through Chief Secretary and in September, he issued the order (Order No: 466 LC of 2018 Dated: 28-09-2018) which should have been issued by Governor, SP Malik, through the State Administrative Council (SAC).
Sources said that in order to safeguard their interests, Bhat and Ishfaq are now trying hard that the transfer order (Order No. 1671-GAD of 2018, dated 22-11-2018) of Muzaffar Ahmad Wani who was Special Secretary Home Department to Secretary Legislative Council is not implemented.
The employees of the Legislative Council have launched an agitation against the Government order of appointment of new Secretary as they demand that the Secretary of the Council should be appointed from the employees of Council or the controversy should be placed to rest by giving additional charge of Secretary to Abdul Majid Bhat.
Sources said that the duo has apprehensions that appointment of Muzaffar Ahmad Wani as Secretary may open a can of worms and put both of them in a soup as there are financial irregularities in purchases and constructions besides illegal promotions. They want that either of them should be at the helm of affairs so as to safeguard their own interests.
Follow our WhatsApp channel
