Early Times Report
Srinagar, June 10:The government today admitted that it had transferred 592 employees, including IAS, IPS, KAS and KPS officers, prematurely in violation of its transfer policy, but justified these premature transfers, saying these were done "in the interest of administration". The prematurely transferred employees belong to GAD, Finance Department, Hospitality and Protocol, Higher Education Department, PHE, Irrigation and Flood Control Department, Transport Department, Planning Development and Monitoring Department, Public Works (R&B) Department, Rural Development Department, School Education Department and Home Department. In response to a question of MLA Kathua Rajiv Jasrotia, the government in a written reply stated that GAD had not issued and separate circular instruction with regard to premature transfer as well as defined norms regarding transfer/posting added that same already stand notified vide Government Order No. 861-GAD of 2010 dated 28-07-2010 (Transfer Policy).
The government stated that the premature transfers wherever unavoidable in the interest of administration are ordered with the prior approval of the competent authority as provided in the transfer policy.
Contrary to the situation on ground, the government stated that no specific complaints vis-à-vis premature transfers if any effected in different departments since November 2015 have been received and added that a well defined mechanism is already in place to ensure that the grievances/complaints concerning various issues are redressed in a time bound manner.
The government also denied that it had made appointments in various departments without issuance of public notification in violation of the mandate of Articles 14 and 16 of the Indian Constitution applicable in J&K as well.
As per the list of premature transfers given by the government, J&K special tribunal chairman and senior IAS officer Pramod Kumar Jain was transferred as Financial Commissioner (Revenue) in 39 days, Financial Commissioner Information, H&P and Civil Aviation, B B Vyas was transferred and posted as Financial Commissioner, Planning and Development Department, in 18 days, Sundeep Kumar Nayak was transferred from the post of Principal Secretary, Tourism Department, to the post of Principal Secretary, Agriculture Production Department, in less than 2 months. IAS officers -- Bipul Pathak, Ashok Kumar Parmar, Navin Kumar Chowdhary, Vinod Koul, Hirdesh Kumar, Sarita Chauhan, Vineeta Gupta, Sanjeev Verma, Baseer Khan, Shahid Iqbal Choudhary and Syed Abid Rashid - were also transferred prematurely. Similarly, senior IPS Officer Lalatendu Mohanti was transferred from the post of ADGP, Home Gaurds/CD/SDRF to the post of ADGP Armed within six months. Other senior IPS Officers, including Garib Dass, Rafiq-ul-Hassan, Udayabhaskar Billa, Shalinder Kumar Mishra, Pande Rajiv Omprakash and Shridhar Patil were also transferred prematurely by the government.
Among the transfer policy violators, GAD tops the list with 221 premature transfers followed by Finance Department with 103 premature transfers, School Education Department with 89 premature transfers and Home Department with 73 premature transfers out of the list of 592 premature transfers submitted by the government in reply to the BJP MLA's question.
It is pertinent to mention that hundreds of lower police constabulary, Masters, Teachers, JEs, AEEs and other officers are prematurely transferred on the bases of their affiliation with some political parties or to make the adjustment of some of the blue eyed persons having backing of the ruling party. |
