Lack of transparency in selection, criteria changed at will
Fayaz Bukhari
SRINAGAR, Oct 11 : The special Audit of Jammu and Kashmir Entrepreneurship Development Institute (JKEDI) has found that appointments made in the Institute since its inception were fraudulent as the recruitment process lacked transparency with ambiguous and trailer made advertisements.
The Audit (DAI/Audit/ SA/EDI/1026 dated 16-09-2020) conducted by the Directorate of Audit and Inspections has found that the recruitment notifications issued by the JKEDI had been ambiguous.
It has found that certain advertisements issued by the Institute for filling up of various posts had been trailer made to adjust favourite candidates.
The Audit found that engagement orders issued by the Institute were not in conformity with the terms and conditions of the advertisement notifications giving rise to suspicion of benefit to selected and adjusted candidates.
As per the advertisements issued from time to time, various posts in the Institute were to be filled on contractual basis for a period of one or two years but later these contractual employees were regularized after completing the contract period.
“Thus the candidates with higher qualification, experience and research background may have been reluctant in applying on the particular post as future of the appointment was not clear there by diluting the healthy competition”, read the report.
It has found that the selection criteria for appointment of employees in the Institute had been setup after invitation of applications and shortlisting of candidates and in most of the cases at the time of interview by the Selection committee there and then which is against the service rules.
The audit said that the criteria adopted by the Selection Committee for recruiting various posts in the Institute had not remained uniform throughout.
“The employees at the time of the appointment were supposed to submit original certificates and JKEDI had to verify them but the Institute ignored it”, the Audit report said.
An official said that several appointments were made on fake certificates and they had raised this issue with the higher-ups but they were targeted.
The audit said that the JKEDI service rules do not provide deputation of employees to other departments but employees were deputed to other departments without any benefit to the JKEDI and the Institute suffered with such deputations.
The audit has found that in some instances one post was advertised and more than one person was appointed.
The audit has found that in 14th meeting of Governing body that was held on 14th May 2011, the qualification of M Phil and PhD was waived off for the post of Assistant Professor. An official said that this was done to adjust some blued eyed candidates.
The audit has found that the Institute has violated the General Financial Rules and adopted higher pay scales of several employees at will and has also upgraded the pay scales of several posts from time to time.
It has been found that the JKEDI has paid consolidated salary to contractual appointees at much higher rates and has also enhanced the same from time to time during the contract period of each and every appointee.
It has also been found that upgradation of the scales in some of the posts reflects quantum jump without any proper justification and proposed that these upgradations be reviewed.
The audit has also found that the pay of the JKEDI employees was re-fixed as per the 7th Pay Commission effecting from 01-01-2016 without the approval of Governing body.
Follow our WhatsApp channel
