Authorities confident of sorting out issue soon
Avtar Bhat
JAMMU, Jan 18: The future of hundreds of migrant engineers appointed under PM package way back in 2010 and afterwards is in jeopardy with the authorities in Civil Secretariat totally refusing to include their names in seniority lists for the promotion to the next higher cadre.
The news has come as a rude shock to migrant engineers serving in Kashmir valley under hostile circumstances for over last 10 years after the authorities in Civil Secretariat outrightly turned down inclusion of their names in the seniority lists for promotions to next higher cadre by raising unnecessary queries.
The confusion has been created after the Department of Disaster Management, Relief, Rehabilitation and Reconstru-ction (DDMRRR) issued a clarification on September 9 last year stating that Kashmiri migrants appointed under special PM’s return and rehabilitation package are governed by J&K Migrant (Special Drive) Recruitment Rules 2009 as notified vide SRO 412 of 2009. Hence these posts are also not borne on the establishment of any Department or Service. As such the SRO 202 of 2015 is not applicable for the said recruitment.
The letter further said on similar analogy, it is understood that since these posts are supernumerary posts, not borne on the establishment of any Department therefore S.O, 192 of 2020 and S.O 194 of 2020 shall not apply to these posts created under PM package for Kashmiri migrants.
Sources said on the basis of the letter from the DDMRRR, the R&B Department did not include the names of the migrant JEs in the seniority list for promotion to higher posts. Sources said the DDMRRR letter has created a lot of confusion with the result the engineers appointed under PM package has to bear the brunt of it.
However, the authorities in Works and DDMRRR are confident of sorting out issue soon. Shailender Kumar, Commissioner Secretary Works told Excelsior that his Department has received a letter from DDMRRR on the basis of which the names were not included in the seniority list. However, the issue will be sorted out soon as Government is going to hold a meeting of concerned departments soon.
Secretary DDMRRR Simrandeep Singh said that there was some misunderstanding on the issue and it has been sorted out and settled now.
According to sources, the R&B Department in Civil Secretariat while framing the seniority lists of Civil Engineers for promotions to next higher cadre i.e as Assistant Engineers has refused to include the names of migrant engineers in the list on the frivolous pleas that they were not permanent employees of the Department and their posts would remain supernumerary.
Sources while questioning the DDMRRR letter accused it of violating the previous directives issued from time to time which clearly stated that the supernumerary posts shall get abolished once the appointee is promoted and adjusted against any post borne on regular budget. The directives issued by Revenue Department to Director General Accounts and Treasuries in this regard during 2015 clearly stated that once the official is promoted his status shall not remain the same.
“If any employee appointed under the package is promoted to next higher post in that case his salary shall subsequently be drawn from the normal budget on which the post is borne and not under the Special Recruitment Employment (SRE)”. It further stated that there shall be no binding on the Department for posting the official out of home district once he is promoted.
Sources said on the basis of DDMRRR letter the Public Works Department (PWD) in its recent meeting while discussing the agenda for promotion avenues of JEs appointed under PM’s special package maintained that these engineers are supposed to work within Kashmir Valley and are not eligible for transfer outside the Valley under any circumstances. What has come as a rude shock to these engineers in particular and Kashmir Pandit community in general is that the meeting stated these posts are meant for a particular community (Kashmiri Pandits) for a particular area (Kashmir valley) and were supernumerary created for the purpose of return and rehabilitation of KPs to Valley.
However, as per SRO 42 under which rules for appointment of migrant employees were framed in 2009 it has been categorically mentioned that the services of an appointee shall be regulated by the Jammu and Kashmir Civil Services (Classifications , Control and Appeal) rules, 1956 and other such regulations.
The rule also says that the seniority of the appointees shall be fixed at the places on the posts of their first appointment in the particular grade and service.
The General Administration Department (GAD) in its letter dated February 11 in 2014 has also made it clear that the PM package employees are entitled to all the benefits including seniority and other service benefits which should be extended to them by the concerned departments as per the rules.
Sources said moreover, various departments have already granted promotions to the package employees to higher posts on available vacancies which included Department of Accounts and Treasuries, Department of Libraries, Education and Social Welfare Department while the R&B has unnecessarily created hurdles in promoting the hundreds of JEs working in the Department under PM package and added to their woes.
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