Srinagar 05 May (KNB): Throwing service rules into bin, the Agriculture Production Department (APD) selectively posted some blue-eyed junior officers as Chief Agriculture Officer and equivalent.
The documents available with KNB reveal that during the year 2020, vide Govt. Order No. 99-JK(Agri) of 2020 dated 15.06.2020, 13 Sub-divisional level Agriculture officers have been assigned the charge of District level posts. Another 68 & 05 Sub-divisional level Agriculture officers were assigned the charge of District level posts vide G.O. No. 135-JK(Agri) of 2020 dated 22.07.2020 and G.O. No. 174-JK(Agri) of 2020 dated 18.09.2020, respectively, whereas during the year 2022, 25 more Sub-divisional level Agriculture officers were assigned the charge of District level posts vide G.O. No. 68-JK(Agri) of 2022 dated 13.04.2022.
Notably as per Service jurisprudence date of appointment/ promotion/assignment of the charge reckons the seniority of officers while as seniority is reckoned by the serial No. in which the officers appears in the order issued.
The APD assigned the charge of Chief Agriculture Officer & equivalent to 12 District level officers, vide G.O. No. 275-JK(APD) of 2023 dated 4.5.2023 to meet out the functional requirement of the Department.
Talking to news agency Kashmir News Bureau (KNB) on condition of anonymity, one of the senior official from the department said, “As per the service rules one who became District Officer earlier is eligible for promotion to Chief Agriculture Officer ahead, but as per the order issued yesterday no such rules were applied.”
“The officers at the helm of affairs at administrative department are demoralizing the work force by issuing such illegal orders in flagrant violation of rules,” he further said.
The officers appealed the Lt. Governor Manoj Sinha and Chief Secretary Dr. A K Mehta to take cognizance of such illegal order and order a probe in the matter through a credible officer/asgency.
Pertinently an officer appearing at S.No.65 in the order of seniority was assigned the charge of District level post vide G.O. No. 135-JK(Agri) of 2020 dated 22.07.2020, has accelerated with the blessings from bureaucracy and by passed not only 64 officers ahead of him in the said order but also 04 officers who were assigned District level charge on an earlier date i.e., 15.06.2020, another officer said, adding the APD has ignored the rules and regulations while issuing the G.O. No. 275-JK(APD) of 2023 dated 4.5.2023, the order is illegal, arbitrary and discriminatory, he added.
However, the order has been issued as temporary arrangement to meet the functional requirements of the department and is for the period of six months only to look after the charge of the post till the posts are filled up under rules by DPC/PSC whichever is earlier.
Despite repeated calls by Kashmir News Bureau, the concern authority could not be contacted for their comments.(KNB)