Guv’s administration silent, gang of five manage posting of blue-eyed officials
Lobby system creating safe niche for blue-eyed officials
Despite the ‘hyper active’ politics of the Governor-Satya Pal Malik to end corruption in government institutions, Forest Department continues to be ‘pre-mature’ transfer industry, wherein a lobby of couple of officers/ officials are creating safe niche for blue eyed officials.
It would not be perhaps wrong to say that the Governor’s administration has apparently failed to notice and curb this transfer industry, fully active under ‘well connected’ and ‘influential officials’ in the Civil Secretariat.
A gang of five officials, active in Civil Secretariat’s Forest Department, are holding key to “pre-mature transfer” of any officials from any part of the State, and promoting their ‘blue-eyed’ officials. Forest Department, headed by Vijay Kumar as Advisor, under Governor has earned a repute of pre-mature transfers from last several months even as there is a Governor’s circular that no official be transferred within two or three years at one place of posting.
“Frequent pre-mature transfer of officials in Forest Department has become a toll in the hands of well connected people, who are fleecing officials in lieu of transfer or to stop transfer,” said sources, adding that a gang of five officials, active in Civil Secretariat’s Forest Department, are holding key to “pre-mature transfer” of any officials from any part of the State, and promoting their ‘blue-eyed’ officials.
If sources are to be believed that not only corruption has gone up with such practice, but it has also played with the careers of the officials because they have to take Annual Progress Report (APR) from the seniors.
“If any official denies doing wrong at the place of his posting as per the wishes of his seniors, he is forced. Once, he denies, he is transferred pre-maturely,” said aggrieved, who faced such harassment of several premature transfers.
Not only forced pre-mature transfers, but Forest Department in recent months ordered transfer of over 100 officials and out of these officials, 15 got stay orders from the court, including 8 DFOs from Kashmir and seven from Jammu, against their pre-mature transfer orders.
On the one hand, the officials are being transferred without waiting for their posting time to complete (2 to 3 years as per Governor’s own circular), and on the other, over staying DFOs are not touched.
It is more surprising that the personal section of Advisor Vijay Kumar allegedly works as per the wishes of the blue-eyed officials and prior to the postings department gets to know who is going where and how many pre-mature transfer going to take place and when.
Like, it is most likely that BM Sharma, who is serving as Member Secretary Pollution Control Board, to be posted as CCF Jammu. Officials known to the development said that the department is also familiar posting and transfer at prime location of father-son duo.
Interestingly, rules are twisted to accommodate blue-eyed like father Jagish Lal Attri (non-gazetted officer) was accommodated by his son Anil Kumar Attri even as he (Jagdish) was not legible for the post he is holding presently i.e. Incharge Assistant Conservator of Forest (ACF) SFRI, Jammu. Both father-son manage prime postings though-out their career.
Similarly, Shahzad Choudhary, presently posted as Wild Life Warden, Jammu, managed his three transfers in three months.
Like, Choudhary was earlier transferred in the month of May this year from Reasi to Technical Officer (TO) to CCF, Jammu. And, in month of July, he was transferred and posted as Wild Life Warden, headquarter, Srinagar and once again, in October 2018, he got choice posting in Jammu as Wild Life Warden, Jammu.
One would be surprised to know that one DFO was State Forest Corporation (SFC) born and he was Assistant Manager. However, he was given posting in Terrorital Forest Division in Mahore (Reasi). Another officials, Mohinder Singh Jamwal within three months, he got two posting i.e DFO Mahore to DM SFC Bhaderwah and then, he was shifted to DFO Demarcation Bhaderwah.
