Avtar Bhat
JAMMU, May 7: Despite the 2011 State Cabinet’s regularization decision , hundreds of Rehbar-e-Zirats of Jammu region are running from pillar to post as justice still eludes them due to a flaw in the order.
As per the Cabinet decision of August 4, 2011, the then Government decided to regularize all the 2642 ReZs by creating equal number of posts of Village Agriculture Extension Officers in the State under divisional cadre. As the number of ReZs from Jammu region was 1504 and Kashmir Valley was 1004 hence posts were also created accordingly for the two regions.
The Cabinet decided to regularize the posts in a phased manner from 2014 to 2016 in both the regions and two Divisional level Selection Committees one each for Jammu Division and another for Kashmir Division was constituted vide Government order number 378 dated November 28, 2013 with regularization of 881 ReZs in first two phases and 880 in third phase.
The Selection Committees were constituted for the two divisions i.e Kashmir as well as Jammu Division. While the Committee for Jammu Division was headed by Director Agriculture as its convener, Director Command Area Development, Joint Director Inputs, Deputy Director Training were its members. The Deputy Director Central was appointed as member cum secretary.
For Kashmir valley the Selection Committee was also headed by Director Agriculture as its convener while Director Command Area Development, Director Rakkhs and Farms and Floriculture Development Officer were made its members. The Deputy Director Agriculture Central was appointed as member secretary.
However, according to sources, there is a great flaw in the order as despite constitution of two separate Selection Committees for the two regions, the number of posts to be regularized in the first two phases for two regions was kept 881 i.e 441 for Jammu Division and 440 for Kashmir Division while for the third and last phase 880 posts will be regularized. This way, 622 ReZs from Jammu have to wait for their regularization till third phase which is to take place in 2016 while the number of ReZs from Kashmir to be regularized in this phase will be only 124 as rest of 1004 would be absorbed in first two phases from this region.
Terming it a great flaw in the Government order, the sources said that the number of ReZs from Kashmir valley is 1004 and that of Jammu is 1504 and the regularization of candidates from the two divisions could have been done separately by dividing the equal number of posts of each region by three so that the candidates of both the regions could get justice. But much to the chagrin of these hapless candidates this was not done, sources added.
Terming it a total injustice with ReZs of Jammu, Vishal, an aggrieved candidate said that there is no logic in clubbing the candidates of two divisions. He said the posts have been created on divisional basis and the number of candidates of both the regions should have been divided equally and the regularization orders issued accordingly.
Vishal said with the Government decision, 176 candidates of Jammu Division will become junior by one year and also they will lose one year’s salary. This is a cause of concern for the ReZs of Jammu who struggled over the years for their regularization but were still subjected to disparity through a stroke of pen by those at the helm of affairs, he added.
He said the matter was taken up with higher ups in the Government but to no avail. The BJP State president and MP Jugal Kishore Sharma assured to raise the issue in Coordination Committee while a memorandum was also given to Deputy Chief Minister Dr Nirmal Singh but to no avail.
However, when contacted Minister of Agriculture, Ghulam Nabi Lone Hanjura said that J&K is a single unit and there is no disparity in the order. He said the regularization will be made on the same pattern as has been decided earlier and there can be no modification at this stage. He said if the candidates had any apprehension about the order they should have got it rectified at the same time when it was issued and there is no fun of raising the issue at this juncture, he added.
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