STATE TIMES NEWS
JAMMU: Urging upon the ministers to respect the institutional propriety and prescribed mechanism in the matter of transfers, Harsh Dev Singh, Chairman JKNPP and Former Minister has alleged violation of norms and stipulated procedures in the wholesale transfers of government functionaries in the recent past. He said that thousands of transfers effected in various government departments at the present juncture when the State was faced with one of the worst ever crisis defied logic and rationale and had further raised many an eyebrow.
He said that the most intriguing aspect was the large scale pre-mature transfers effected in various departments without recording the reasons for such pre-mature postings as per the mandate of the Transfer Policy.
He said that another obnoxious aspect of transfers was the large scale modifications of the original transfers in violation of transfer policy which required the reasons for such modifications to be recorded and duly vetted by the next higher authority.
He said that the complaints regarding violation of norms and circumvention of transfer policy had poured in from various quarters including protests duly covered in the media but the concerned authorities had failed to take cognisance. He said that wholesale transfer orders issued recently in the Departments of Health, Power, Animal Husbandry, Forests, Education and Social Welfare deserved a review in particular in the light of the prevalent Transfer Policy.
He said that even today’s media had carried reports of even BJP leaders and workers protesting in Doda against the alleged whimsical transfer orders issued by Health Department with demands for their cancellation.
Alleging gross violation of propriety, probity and morality in transfer orders issued by various departments, Singh urged upon the Chief Minster to review them especially those issued in violation of Transfer Policy. He said that ministers must be made to realise that authority and responsibility have got to go together. He regretted that presently the ministers especially of BJP were enjoying power without accountability, transparency and responsibility. He said that he had himself complained to certain ministers regarding transfers having been effected on monetary and other extraneous considerations which he regretted had failed to elicit any response whatsoever.
Harsh further regretted that while the corrupt officials and favourites were being given prime choice postings, the ‘inconvenients’ were being rubbished and maltreated. Urging upon the Chief Minister to tighten the nose around her ministers in conformity with her slogans of Accountability and Transparency, Singh said that defiance of norms, unreasonable conduct and rule of whim followed by such ministers was breeding cynicism, disgust and anger in the hearts and minds of people. She must act fast to save the credibility of the government from further damage, he added.
