Avinash Azad
JAMMU, July 10: In yet another glaring instance of altering service rules and favoritism a blue eyed Assistant Engineer (AE), holding close allegiance with Deputy Chief Minister and former Commissioner Secretary of Urban Local Bodies Department, was directly promoted as Executive Engineer, without becoming Assistant Executive Engineer (AEE) even for one day.
Well placed sources told Early Times that blue eyed engineer, Raman Uppal, who was appointed as junior engineer in year 1986 in Directorate of Urban Local Bodies Kashmir, was directly promoted as Executive Engineer, in total violation of service rules and allegedly under the directions of Deputy Chief Minister Tara Chand and the then Commissioner Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Department, Jeet Lal.
"For the post of Executive Engineer, an officer should have at least seven years service as Assistant Executive Engineer", sources said, adding that in case of Uppal's promotion case, he was not even promoted as AEE.
Earlier, in 2007, Uppal was elevated as Assistant Engineer and as per rule he would have to be promoted as AEE in 2014, but due to some unknown reasons, he was awarded with unjustified promotion at inappropriate time.
"The practice has also discouraged the other engineers, who are working efficiently", sources said, adding that order of promotion of the said engineer has not been provided to directorate office so far by the Civil Secretariat.
According to the lists of JEs, AEs and AEEs available with Early Times, the Directorate of Urban Local Bodies Jammu was asked to provide the seniority list by the office of the Commissioner Secretary, for their promotion on December 12, 2012.
The bio data was furnished to Civil Secretariat by Directorate office under communication letter number DULBJ/2012/17081, in which the designation of Raman Uppal was mentioned as Assistant Engineer (AE).
Paradoxically, within 26 days of that communication, Uppal was elevated as Executive Engineer, to second division Urban Local Bodies Jammu.
"On January 15, 2013 same day when State Cabinet was reshuffled and some Ministers were dropped, Deputy Chief Minister the then Minister in-charge Housing and Urban Development elevated his loyalist engineer as Executive Engineer", sources maintained, adding that during that course of adjustment of their favorite Raman Uppal the higher authorities also harassed some officials/ officers.
Being asked about violation of rules while promoting Raman Uppal, Secretary to Housing and Urban Development Satish Nehru said that he didn't know anything about it. "Since the promotion was made before my joining as Secretary. I am not aware about it and cannot comment", he said. |
