Avinash Azad
Early Times Report
Jammu, Dec 19: The then Commissioner Secretary of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj (RD&PR), promoted 15 JEs as Assistant Engineers (AEs) just one month after constitution of committee to determine the validity of degrees obtained through distance mode of education.
According officials documents available with Early Times former head of DR&PR J&K in September 2017 constituted a committee and then issued promotion orders of JEs, who had obtained degrees through distance mode of education that too without availing study leave. The officer did not wait for the committee to submit its report.
"Six members committee was headed by then Secretary, RD&PR, Rafiq Ahmad Hakim, as Chairman, Gazanfar Ali, Director Rural Development Department Kashmir, Director Rural Development Department Jammu, R K Bhat, Director Finance Department of RD&PR, S.L Pandita, Superintending Engineer, REW Jammu Balbir Singh and Public Law Officer Department of RD&PR Rais Ahmad Qazi were the members of the committee."
According to order the committee was asked to submit its report/recommendation with a period of seven days from the date of issuance of the order, i.e. 30th of September 2017. "Surprisingly, the committee never met even after lapse of the mentioned time", claimed one the committee members and added that a relative of one committee member was among the JEs, who were promoted on the basis of 'fake' degrees.
They said that the committee was constituted to check the degrees in light of government order number 251-HE of 2012, dated 30/05/2012 issued by the Higher Education Department.
"Ignoring its own previous order the then Commissioner Secretary RD&PR promoted 15 JEs as AEs vide order number 293-RD&PR of 2017, dated 24/10/2017", sources said and added that none of these had sought study leave, even examination leave till the completion of their degrees. Secretary RD&PR, Sheetal Nanda could not be contacted for her version. |
