Is not an era of ‘managed promotions’ to benefit individuals and not the State & her subjects started?

Is not there a need for creating ‘Department Audit for Administrative & Human Resource Evaluation’?

DAYA SAGAR

Should creation of ‘apex’ senior level permanent posts in Government be left to the executive/ government or should be brought under the purview of Legislature ?
Should the executive be allowed to create even regular departments simply to benefit individuals putting extra load on the exchequer of no immediate use to institutions ?Like are some of the questions that need very serious and analytical examination on date since so often it is observed that
(1). new posts are created of superior levels of pay scales less out of some must public interest requirements and more for benefitting an individual government employee who after elevation at occasions keeps on working on the same assignment without taking any reasonable additional workload. Government may increase the pay of a officer with time( like the culture of non functional grade promotions has been started in J&K also very recently but that too has been for those who ‘intimately follow with administrative departments or are close to ‘Administration’ (secretariat). but there is no justification for raising the level of the post which has recurring financial / administrative implications. An intimate look into the files would reveal that occasions posts of higher grades like Director General of Level -14 have been created for officers who are more near to the ‘Secretariat’ or are related to Finance Departments where as what to talk of treating even officers in the field departments like Engineering Departments who may enter government service as Assistant Engineer through PSC even at the age of 22/23yrs by creating provisions for posting them levels above Level -13 , they could be even found handling assignments of the level of Chief Engineer for even 2 to 3 yrs as Chief Engineer I/C and so surprisingly for some getting pension in the grade of AEE only for more than 10 to 12 years before the Administrative Department regularises the promotions made as I/C Executive Engr , I/C Superintending Engineer , I/C CE as had been the case with some JK PDD retirees for whom Satya Pal Malik the then Governor J&K could sense their agony had made the SAC to decide on 22-10-2019 that their cases be . settled for regularisation within 30 days even if that needs bypassing PSC as one time exception but it has been only in 2022 that when the matter was brought to the intimate knowledge of Manoj Sinha LG with A.K Mehta as CS that process of regularisation/ clearing files with yes or no notes was started.
Whereas under order No. 30-JK-(PDMD) of 22-08-2022 issued by Dr. Raghav Langer, Secretary, Planning, Development & Monitoring Department (HRM Section) Government of JUK UT promoted three Directors of J&K Economics & Statistics (Gazetted) Service as Director General (E&S) in the Super Time Scale of Level-14 with pay scale of Rs. 1,44,200-2,18,200) (old scale Rs. 37,400-67,000 with Grade pay of Rs. 10,000 ) with retrospective effect from 17-02-2022 without making any change in their ‘then’ place of posting i.e Dr. Harjeet Singh Arora, Agri. Prod. Dept Sect, ; Parvaiz Sajad Kakroo, Devt. Exp. Division-II, Finance Dept. Sect., and Ather Hussain Qadri, Statistical Training School, Srinagar. From the core of the order it reflects that the LEVEL promotion has been accorded more to benefit the individual officer than the Government work since it does not appear to be in view of increased work load and even when we are in an era of e- governance.
J&K Government had though SRO – 266 of 30-08-2013 issued by Principal Secretary Finance. by order of Governor in exercise of the powers conferred by the proviso to Section 124 of the Constitution of Jammu & Kashmir, amended the Jammu & Kashmir Civil Service Regulations Volume -I so as to insert in Article 226(1); after the third proviso, another proviso saying ” a member of the teaching faculty of Government Medical College Srinagar / Jammu in service on 19.06.2014, or appointed on or after that date, shall retire on his attaining the age of 62 years”. Provision made for government medical colleges Jammu and Srinagar was extended to the teaching faculty of Dental College Jammu and Srinagar also vide SRO-26 of 9th January, 2015. It could ofcourse be seen an action taken in greater academic interest for making use of the faculty members with very long teaching experience to meet the shortage of experienced teachers and to benefit the young graduating doctors too.
JKH&ME Department vide Government Order No.456-JK(HME) of 2022 dated 28 – 06 – 2022 has also extended the benefit of increase in retirement age ( 62 yrs) which is for a member of the teaching faculty of Government Medical College to three Doctors ( said to be holding Degree in Hospital Administration) (i) working as Medical Superintendent, 1GB Pant Children Hospital Srinagar (ii) Registrar Academics, Government Medical College Srinagar , (iii) Managing Director, J&K Medical Supplies Corporation Ltd ) in terms of some directions from HC of UT of J&K and UT of Ladakh . The directions of HC surely depend upon the petitions and the facts of the case presented by the Government in defence. One of the petitions referred is of March 2022 only.
Need for a departmental review of the said action becomes more immediate the way another G.O 400-JK-HME of 2022 Dated 14-07-2022 has been issued on the recommendations of JK H&ME Deptt for creating a new department ( Department of Hospital Administration) in the Medical College Jammu as well as Medical College Srinagar in just 2 weeks of issue of Government Order No.456-JK(HME) OF 2022 D A T E D 28 – 06 – 2022 simply taking refuge under the Guidelines of MCI , which appears to have been issued to cover up the benefit of 62yrs of retirement age retrieved by 3 doctors that could be otherwise given to only a senior member of teaching faculty but the said doctors do not have adequate teaching experience of working as faculty members in any academic institution and may be even nearing retirement. May be the action of granting retirement age benefit will be soon covered up by designating them as faculty members ( Lecturer / Asst. Professor in newly opened department ) to avoid questions by other doctors holding PG degree in Hospital Administration but belonging to Health Department.
It is not out of place to mention here that as per MCI Guidelines in modern times the doctors with MD in Pathology are not approved for appointment in the Forensic Science department but JK H&ME has been appointing the faculty members in the Forensic Science Department without Post Graduate degree in Forensic Science and Medicine when this department is very sensitive department from legal point of view also and fate of many criminal cases depends upon the correctness of the forensic examination and the assessment / opinion of the Forensic Expert / Doctor concerned.
So going by the likes of the affairs as are being conducted in the Administrative Departments these days is not there a need for creating a new Department ” Audit for Administrative and Human Resource Evaluation” which is must need for improving the human resource quantity & quality for welfare of the common man and for check on benefit simply going to individual who actually is employed to work for the benefit of common man?
(The author is Sr Journalist, social activist and analyst J&K affairs [email protected]).