Staff sitting idle, salary budget burden worth Rs 5 cr
*No purchases in Deptt for last 2 years
Gopal Sharma
JAMMU, July 22: Adhocism galore in the Department of Stationery & Office Supplies with hardly any work for a `work force’ of over 150 staff, exerting burden of nearly Rs 5 crores per annum on public exchequer on account of salary budget of the employees in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
Except Jammu, all the Depots of the Department in the region including Kathua, Rajouri, Doda and Udhampur are lying headless while in Kashmir region also, except two, all the depots at district level are headless as the higher authorities concerned did not bother to post District officers (Dy Superintendents) at these places for the last couple of years for the proper functioning of the department. There are no purchases by the department for the last two years and the staff has been rendered idle with hardly any official work with them.
Official sources told the Excelsior that this department was created by the then State Government for procuring stationery and allied items for various Government departments and Corporations and then ensuring supplies on regular basis. But now with the passage of time, this department has been turned `almost defunct’. The annual budget of the department was reduced gradually and despite retirement of many employees during last one decade, no fresh recruitment was done.
All the Government departments are made to purchase stationery and allied items for office purpose at their own and this has virtually reduced the relevance of this departments. The Govt departments, as per J&K Financial rules and guidelines are only seeking NOCs from the Department of Stationery and Office Supplies. They are free to purchase any kind of stuff from anywhere in the open market.
Sources further revealed that the deterioration in the functioning of this department has gone to such an extent that even for running the affairs of the department in Jammu, a non-gazetted rank officer has been given the DDO powers, which as per Financial Rules are accorded to a Gazetted officer only. A most junior officer has been placed as Dy Superintendent here. The officer is drawing a fatty salary of Rs 1.28 lakh but has rendered sitting idle along with other staff members. About 37 officials are working under him at Jammu office/ depot while 17 posts are lying vacant for the last many years. No necessity was felt by the HoD or other senior officers to fill up these vacant posts.
J&K Govt Employees Joint Action Committee while reacting to the non-serious approach of the Government said if they (J&K Government) was not willing to release budget and ensure proper functioning of the department it should close it for ever and accommodate the work force / staff in the other departments. The Government has been spending nearly Rs 42 lakh per month on the salary of the employees. But the output of this Department is nearly zero. The Government should either revive the Department or close it for ever.
“Running a department without specific work has no meaning. It is sheer burden on the pocket of tax payers. Ranbir Govt Press and Department of Stationery & Office Supplies were once single entity but it was bifurcated about one and half decade back. It is better to club these two departments and revive it by appointing officers and other staff and ensure all supplies to departments through it or bind it up,” a spokesman of the EJAC said.
Director General, the Department of Stationery & Office Supplies, Dr Kabir Dar when contacted admitted that many district level and other important posts in this Govt department were lying vacant across J&K prior to his posting here. Dar said he has sent the proposal to fill up vacant posts and also revival of the department as many officials retired but posts remained vacant.
When asked why no budget was provided to the Department for the last two years, Dar said,” Some time back, one of his predecessors had written to the Government for binding up of this department. Therefore, no budget is being released and moreover, once it was withdrawn by the Government, on the same plea. I have also sent a proposal for the merger of Ranbir Govt Press and Department of Stationery & Office Supplies to the Government as many of their employees have no work to do. On the response of the Government, a committee has been constituted to make comprehensive proposal for the revival of this department as well.”
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