S Tahir-ul Haq
Early Times Report
SRINAGAR, Sept 25: The Planning, Development and Monitoring Department employees have decided to protest against recent State Administrative Council (SAC) decision to transfer the former's powers to Finance Department.
Recently, the Finance Department issued an order vide no: 407-FD of 2018, dated 20-09-2018. The order states that allocation of expenditure functions and related issues of authorization, releases, revalidation, re-appropriation etc are transferred from Planning Development and Monitoring Department to the Finance Department.
Also, the allocation of functions as listed at Annexure "A" rests with the Finance Department and functions listed at Annexure "B" with the Planning Development and Monitoring Department, the order said.
Sources said that as per the recent SAC decision, Functions of Planning Department has been transferred to Finance Department and Planning Department has been left toothless. So the employees want complete merger of the Finance and Planning Departments.
The eligibility qualification of JK Economic and Statistics cadre is specialized PG with Economics, Statistics, Commerce and Mathematics while as for JK Accounts Service it is simple graduation, said sources.
They said that people from Economic, Statistics, and Mathematics background can run finances with better efficiency than those with Graduation in Urdu, Kashmiri, Person, English, Hind, Sociology, Psychology, zoology etc. It is Injustice with our cadre.
In Planning Department there are almost 5000 employees the functions have been shifted to Finance Department and only Monitoring, Statistics functions have been kept with Planning Department.
The personnel of Planning are experts as the eligibility of the Cadre is PG with Economics, Statistics, Commerce and Mathematics. It is totally Injustice and the future of the Planning Cadre is at stake, a top rank officer of Planning and Monitoring told Early Times.
He said that the cadre namely J&K economic and Statistics service Gazetted as well as non-gazetted personnel are on pen down strike.
This is due to the recent State Administrative Council (SAC) decision wherein all the powers were transferred to Finance Department and also the Cadre was also shifted to Finance Department. Our demand is complete merger with Finance Department with separate seniority.
Our demand is complete merger with Finance Department with a separate cadre of J&K Economics and Statistics service with assured career progression as we are the highest qualified Cadre in the State.
Our basic qualification for this exam is PG with Economics Statistics Commerce and Mathematics while as for KAS eligibility is simple graduation.
However sources further said that seven divisions have been given to Finance Department including, Directorate of Accounts and Treasuries, Directorate of Establishment (currently known as codes division), Directorate of Establishment, Directorate of Institutional Finance and Resource, Revenue Division, Budget Division, Expenditure Division,
While as four divisions have been kept with Planning department including Monitoring Division, Planning Division, Economics and Statistics Division, Special Functions Divisions.
The decision is totally unilateral and biased wherein the Finance Department has encroached upon the roles and responsibilities of the Planning Department, sources said.
The officers expressed deep anguish and dismay as to why the recent cabinet decision of BJP -PDP led government of empowering Planning Department has been over ruled in a jiffy without consulting the senior officers in the state.
It is pertinent to mention here that the Planning department has always shouldered responsibilities assigned to it in most turbulent times in the state and officers of its cadre have proved their metal time and again.
The officers urged upon the Governor S P Malik, Advisors and Chief Secretary to immediately rollback the decision of SAC, which they say is unjustified and could prove hazardous to the age old system put in place by successive governments. |
