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| Contractual staff gets preferential posting, top positions in JKEDI | | Governing Body 'fooled' to get salary hike for blue-eyed coordinators | | JEHANGIR RASHID
Early Times Report
SRINAGAR, Feb 16: The administration of Jammu & Kashmir Entrepreneurship Development Institute (JKEDI) continues to violate laid down norms and mock at the decisions taken by its Governing Body (GB) from time to time. The administration finds it easy to befool the GB headed by the Chief Secretary.
Sources told Early Times that the EDI administration after getting the approval of GB to one of its decisions has been posting the contractual and need basis employees on top and equally sensitive positions; while the employees appointed for the job on regular basis are serving on positions they are not even eligible for.
“In one such example, the Institute in its 16th GB meeting held in December 2012 under the chairmanship of the then Chief Secretary, Madhav Lal got approval for 'Fixation of honorarium for Coordinators engaged for reaching out to far flung areas of Jammu & Kashmir'. As per the minutes of the meeting, the agenda item was discussed threadbare,” said sources
Sources said that then Director JKEDI was able to convince the GB to approve hike in honorarium on the pretext that the coordinators have to work in far-flung areas of J&K, so the remuneration hike will be a motivation for them and the hike was justified.
“Accordingly, the GB decided that the upper limit of the remuneration payable to the candidates engaged under different (self-employment) schemes with post graduation in Management, Economics or any other relevant discipline shall be Rs. 25,000/- per month. Though, the monthly remuneration of these coordinators was hiked based on the nature of their job, the JKEDI management preferred to forget the reason on the basis of which the GB had approved the same,” said sources.
Sources said that as on date, all those coordinators continue to remain posted either in JKEDI Pampore, Regional Centre, Jammu and few in their respective home districts. The coordinators are Mashood Wani, Sumiya Ashraf, Aafaq Mirza, Mudasir Ahmad Khan and Nusrat Shah (all posted at JKEDI Pampore).
“Humera Nazir (posted in Centre for Women Entrepreneurship, Srinagar), Sheikh Salma Sultan (posted in parent district Ganderbal), Manzoor Ahmad Pandith (posted in parent district Bandipora), Irfan Ali (posted in parent district Srinagar), Ravoof Ahmad Mir (posted in parent district Shopian), Shabir Ahmad Parray (posted in parent district Kulgam), Nadeem Fayaz (posted in Srinagar on verbal directions of the former Director), Hari Bhushan (posted in Reasi), Vishal Singh (posted in Regional Office Jammu) and Mehak Sharma (posted in Regional Office, Jammu) are the other coordinators,” said sources.
Sources said that these coordinators not only enjoy the blessings of the institute management with regard to their postings, but also the charge of positions they have been assigned. Despite having a fleet of permanent employees with finance background, one of these coordinators, Mashood Wani has been placed as in-charge of Youth Startup Loan Scheme (YSLS), an off-bank lending scheme implemented by the institute.
“The official is a blue-eyed candidate with strong bureaucratic influence and has been given the key position only days after he was recalled from his initial place of posting in a district centre. Since then, JKEDI management has not dared to assign him the duty for which he has been engaged,” said sources.
Sources said that Vishal Singh, another coordinator has been placed as in-charge Estates, Jammu and has never been asked to work in a far-flung area or any district centre for which he has been engaged. The institute has two permanent posts of Manager Estates, but irony is that the senior most of the two officials has been assigned the charge of Grievance Cell.
“Humera Nazir, another blue-eyed coordinator, was earlier on deputation to Governor's Grievance Cell from where she had been refusing to move and join JKEDI, in contravention to an order issued by GAD last year. After hectic efforts the institute somehow managed to get her back. However, the blue-eyed lady again influenced the new Director JKEDI who instructed the Administrative Officer to place her in posh office of the institute's Centre for Women Entrepreneurship (CENWENT), in Press Enclave, Srinagar,” said sources.
It is worthwhile to mention that Humera lives in a nearby posh locality of Srinagar and has been reluctant to work in any of the JKEDI offices or district centres other than those close to her home. The posting she prefers must be within one and a half kilometre either on the right or left side of Zero Bridge over river Jhelum, to which the institute has no option but to oblige owing to her strong bureaucratic patronage.
All these coordinators have been engaged from time to time since 2013 under various entrepreneurship and self employment schemes and their requirement is purely till the life of such schemes. However, instead of utilizing the services of its regular employees the institute management has thrown all norms to the wind to give desired placement to these officials who at any point of time cannot be held accountable for the wrong doings, if any, after the completion of schemes. |
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