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| Not Minister, Secretary remote controls PDD | | 'Power Crisis' in J&K | | Early Times Report
JAMMU, Oct 8: Nero was fiddling while Rome was burning! Chief Minister Omar Abdullah heads Power Development Department (PDD) but if official galleries are to be believed, it is Power Secretary Arun Mehta who runs the show.
Result is that entire Jammu had plunged into darkness and people have no one to talk to, to find out when the power would be restored. If the sources are to be believed, Mehta enjoys similar kind of independence and power as was once enjoyed by now retired IAS officers B.R.Singh and Vijay Bakaya. They added that Mehta recently issued an order directing Chief Engineers of both Jammu and Kashmir regions not to issue any transfer order without his consent.
Such is the order, according to sources that both Chief Engineers who are otherwise regarded a upright and hardworking officers, have no power to even transfer or adjust fourth class employees in their respective regions. They said that Mehta wants them to transfer even Lineman and meter readers after seeking his consent. Sources further said that the order was issued by Mehta on September 1 and hence, it has nothing to do with the one issued by General Administration Department (GAD).
In the wake of unprecedented floods in Kashmir valley, GAD had issued an order putting a blanket ban on the transfers, directing all the administrative secretaries not to issue any transfer order. Sources said that Arun Mehta had banned transfers in the department headed by him much before this order. They added that what to talk of Junior Engineers (JEs), even Meter Readers and other fourth class employees have to wait for the consent from the civil secretariat.
Supposed to be not the man on ground and having no technical know-how of PDD, sources said that Mehta has issued the order to ensure that the Executive Engineers (XEN) who have been recently transferred and assigned various important locations get the people of their choice and taste without the interference of Superintending Engineers and the two Chief Engineers (CEs).
They further said the XENs who were recently shifted overnight transferred the fourth class and other lower rung employees overnight only to get men of their choice and taste alongwith them. Sources disclosed that while the Chief Engineers have no powers, XENs alongwith some AEEs are having field day and even taking decision by directly taking the directions from Power Secretary Arun Mehta's office who is these days operating out of Srinagar.
Such non-sense has crept in the department headed by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah that Executive Engineers whose effectiveness decided the functioning of PDD have been transferred without looking into the experience these engineers have. On being asked, a close aide of power secretary Arun Mehta said "We have appointed some of the best officers. They are the gems of PDD. Look, how good are they running the department. There is no complaint. They restore power within minutes." |
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