‘Order manipulated to adjust helpers instead of Office helpers’
Anupama Sharma
Jammu, May 20
In a sheer violation of SRO 180, Irrigation and Flood Control Department has promoted low rung officials during Departmental Promotion Committee (DPC) held under the chairmanship of Chief Engineer.
According to sources privy to the development, the Departmental Promotion Committee (DPC) of Irrigation Department was held under the Chairmanship of Chief Engineer to promote two helpers as incharge Junior Assistant, which is seen as misuse of official position and violation of SRO 180.
As per the official record available with The Typewriter, DPC headed by Chairman Chief Engineer Irrigation and Flood Control Department and attended by Member Secretary (Technical Officer to Chief Engineer, Irrigation and Flood Control Department Jammu) and Additional Secretary to Government, PHE/I&FC, Civil Secretariat (Member) and Superintendent Engineer, PWD (R&B), Jammu-Kathua as member, was held wherein two helpers were promoted as incharge Junior Assistant.
However, as per SRO 180 dated 26-05-1997 it is Orderly/Chowkidar/Helper Office/Jamadar who are eligible for promotion as incharge Junior Assistant while Helper is promoted as per the seniority for the post of Assistant Line Man, Assistant Motor Man, Assistant Operator etc but not Junior Assistant.
Whereas as per order no 188-E of 2018-19 dated 28-08-2018 Umesh Sharma and Jasmeet Kour were promoted as in-charge Junior Assistant.
As per official document no. TCCD/J/128-130 dated 22-06-18, the Superintending Engineer, Ravi Tawi Const Circle, Jammu officials namely Umesh Sharma, Jasmeet Kour and Megha Aggarwal are working in this office as Helper on regular temporary establishment in the pay scale 4440-7440+1300. “They have rendered more than three years of service and they are now eligible for declaration as quasi permanent”, further reads the order.
The same order vindicate that the employees are posted as Helper in the Department and not Helper Officer but the Departmental Promotion Committee in violation of SRO 180 promoted Umesh Sharma and Jasmeet Kour as incharge Junior Assistant which otherwise they were not eligible.
It is pertinent to mention here that till 2017, the department promotes only Helper (office) through DPC but afterwards they started promoting helpers which is violation of the SRO 180.
“Vide order no 121/E of 2003-04 dated 09-10-2003 only one helper (office) was promoted as Junior Assistant, Vide DPC of year 2007, only one number of Helper (office) was promoted as Junior Assistant, vide DPC held in the year 2014, seven helpers were promoted as Junior Assistants, in the year 2015 DPC, no helper qualified for promotion and in the year 2018-19 DPC, two helpers had been promoted as incharge Junior Assistants”, reads reply of an RTI filed in the department.
The Chief Engineer Irrigation Vinod Gupta while talking to The Typewriter said that I have no knowledge of the matter and there is no written complaint in this regard. “If anybody lodges written complaint in this regard then only inquiry would be initiated in this regard,” said Gupta.
