SWD Director’s salary withheld, 2 others suspended
Deduct undue surcharge from PDD officers’ salary
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Feb 25: Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha today called upon the Government officers to ensure prompt redressal of grievances raised by the people and initiate action against those who don’t fall in line even as he ordered withholding of the salary of Director Social Welfare Department (SWD) Kashmir and inquiry into unnecessary delay made by Jammu and Kashmir Grameen Bank in granting loan to an applicant.
Sinha’s directives came during fifth round of “LG’s Mulaqaat-Live Public Grievance Hearing” programme in Srinagar today.
Taking serious note of complaints against some officers, the Lieutenant Governor sought an immediate response from Administrative Secretaries, Deputy Commissioners, Superintendents of Police and other senior officers of various Government departments and agencies pertaining to the grievances voiced by the applicants.
While initiating action against some of the officers today itself, Sinha warned that the Government will take stern action against the officers who don’t fall in line in addressing issues raised by the people.
While withholding salary of Director Social Welfare Kashmir for delaying the release of pending salary of teachers working in a special school, Sinha expressed dismay over the issue and directed for expediting the process of releasing salaries in favour of affected teachers.
In another case, he ordered an inquiry into unnecessary delays made by Jammu and Kashmir Grameen Bank in granting loan to an applicant.
Commissioner/Secretary Transport Department Hirdesh Kumar has ordered suspension of JKSRTC conductor Mohammad Yousuf Salaria working in the office of ARTO Udhampur on deputation basis on the grievance of one Rajinder Singh. The official will remain attached in the office of Managing Director JKSRTC till further orders.
Meanwhile, Pradeep Kumar, Transport Commissioner has been appointed as Inquiry Officer in the grievance of Rajinder Singh. In the same case, the Transport Department has also issued show cause notice to Assistant RTO Ramban Shafqat Majid.
Chander Mohan Sharma, Motor Vehicle Inspector in the office of ARTO Ramban has also been placed under suspension. He has been attached in the office of Transport Commissioner J&K.
On being apprised by an applicant from Kulgam about the issue of raising surcharge in his electricity bills without delivering the same to the consumer, the Lt Governor directed KPDCL for deducting the undue surcharge from the salary of the concerned officials.
During today’s interaction, the Lt Governor interacted with a total of 22 randomly selected applicants from across the UT, through virtual mode and took first-hand appraisal of their grievances. He also sought public feedback on the administration’s efforts in providing on-spot redressal of their grievances.
Sinha observed that the UT Government is moving forward in its endeavour to strengthen the people-Government partnership, where the Government is working as a facilitator to the people of J&K.
Timelines were also set for taking requisite action for redressing the grievances projected by the applicants.
The Lt Governor directed the Administrative Secretaries to ensure that all departmental websites are updated with the latest information.
He asked the concerned officials to ensure that all educational institutions are connected with the scholarship portals. He further directed for ensuring on-ground participation of the concerned officers during Block Diwas.
During the interaction, the Lt Governor assessed the implementation of directions passed during the previous interactions.
Earlier, Secretary, Public Grievances, Simrandeep Singh briefed the Lt Governor on the present status of grievances and gave a detailed overview of the overall functioning of the Jammu and Kashmir Integrated Grievance Redress and Monitoring System (JK-IGRAMS).
BVR Subrahmanyam, Chief Secretary; Nitishwar Kumar, Principal Secretary to the Lt Governor; Administrative Secretaries; Divisional Commissioners; Deputy Commissioners, Superintendents of Police, and other senior officers participated in the live public grievance hearing, in person and through virtual mode.
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