Sir,
I would like to invite the attention of the Governor of the State towards the long running State of adhocism in Horticulture Planning and Marketing Department leading to suffering of many officers and employees. On one hand, the Directorate of Horticulture Planning and Marketing has been created as an essential tool for facilitating marketing of agricultural produce, on scientific lines while, on the other hand, the administration of the directorate could not be streamlined till date. Consequently, there is a kind of maladministration and mismanagement prevailing at all levels of the department. This department is suffering from a number of bottlenecks and needs immediate and complete transformation.
Firstly, there is no seniority list of Gazetted Officers numbering not more than sixty nine in all despite the fact that the administration of the department is handled by the secretary of Horticulture Department. Consequently, the DPC meeting could not be held since long and the promotions are ordered on ad-hoc basis. All of the officers right from the post of AGMO to Joint Directors are occupying the posts on ad-hoc basis and a number officers including the author have retired from service without getting any benefit of higher pay scale attached with the posts. It is quite logical that the officers so working on ad-hoc basis for long periods of time would lose interest in the official work. Consequently, the work culture also turns poor which in turn leads to the suffering of growers, traders and consumers. Non-functional APMCs and rampant corruption in allotment of shop sites in different fruit and vegetables markets are some of the self speaking evidences of maladministration and mismanagement prevailing in the department.
Besides, there are many offices of the department set up in other states including Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Chandigarh and many more which are functioning as sincures except Delhi office. There is no justification for keeping offices in any other State. We are importing fruits and vegetables from many other states, but don’t have any office of Horticulture Planning and Marketing Department of the concerned State in our State and the interstate trade is running very well. So, instead of scattering our offices throughout the country we should consolidate and concentrate the infrastructure in our State.
I would like to request the concerned authorities of the department to be kind enough to hold DPC meeting and release higher pay scales in favour of all the officers who have been working and those who have retired from service while officiating on higher post with retrospective effect so that justice is done to all of the victims
O P Sharma
Bagnoti Nowshera
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