It looks as if, routine and episodic, with the administration under whichever authority to keep most of the departments running without appointing the heads of whatever rank and position. Instead, ad-hocism is resorted to and patch working is preferred. In such a scenario, it is beyond comprehension as to whether critical decisions, the ones needed to be taken immediately, could at all be taken and what becomes the casualty, as a consequence, is the office performance. If it is not so, how come, as many as 131 PWD Sub Divisions and 32 Divisions continue to be run without their respective heads? Not only are those, as many as 250 posts of Junior Engineers are lying vacant in the department.
At best, the solutions are found through deputations, rotational or ‘additional’ charge of more departments or officiating by juniors but without powers and all these half hearted and incoherent measures result in aborting the smooth functioning of the departments with no accountability or transparency. The feel given to employees down the ranks is just attending the office and marking attendance and no accounting for the job output since governing authority at the top of the department is not provided by the administration. Had this scenario been confined to only the PWD and R&B departments , the matter would have not assumed the dimensions as at present, but other departments too are ‘infected’ with this virus like Tourism, REW, SSA, PMGSY, JDA, SIDCO etc where R&B and PWD send officials on deputation.
Now take the other face of the picture. Should stagnation of eligible officials and denying them post and rank elevation as required on reaching seniority levels , not send waves of discontentment and indifference towards duties though promotions are not as a matter of fact some guaranteed right of an employee? It seems ludicrous that while on the one hand, there are posts not filled up at seniority levels, those eligible for the same are not promoted. Files syndrome in the officialdom continues to be mired in an obscurantist and regressive cobweb and no breakthrough in it is anywhere visible but why?
Are the top bureaucrats vested with decision making powers being not properly advised by the subordinate staff and the former evidently are fully relying upon the latter as it is the issue of ‘enjoying the trust’. At least ,if they do not project clear picture to them or whatever is advised or suggested, there should be an independent source of counter but correct feedback to check the veracity of advices rendered.
We have reports that some officials feeling “aggrieved” have developed the habit or are encouraged like that, to push files themselves from one table to the other for getting their works done . Either they get things done in the system for adopting means not permissible or there is pick and choose or credence is given to operation of such a haphazard manner. What is the reason of there being so many posts vacant in R&B Sub Divisions of both Jammu and Srinagar , in PMGSY Sub Divisions, Tourism JKTDC Sub Divisions in Rural Engineering Wing of RDD and lying vacant for months together?
We have all along been championing the cause of fair treatment due to Government employees in matters of recruitment, confirmation, promotions, transfers and allied issues while employing stringent measures and penal action for gross misconduct involving moral turpitude , corrupt practices, unauthorised and anti procedural actions , frauds and defalcations and even work shirking as also insubordination. A well defined policy alone could be answer to what is plaguing the system where posts in hundreds especially the ones at the level of Heads of the Departments and Divisions are not filled. Please tone up the administrative mechanism right from the top, since we have hopes from the Lieutenant Governor.
Trending Now
E-Paper
Follow our WhatsApp channel