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| In Omar's Fire Services, favourites rule the roost | | | Early Times Report
SRINAGAR, Oct 20: J&K Fire Services is yet another Department which is under the direct control of Chief Minister where the service rules have been thrown to winds and monopoly of authorities prevails.
According to sources the authorities have thrown service rules to winds by giving preference to blue eyed boys in promotions and departmental training after ignoring a large number of deserving and senior officials.
Sources said protesting against the increasing favoritism in the Department hot words were exchanged by senior officers over promotion of juniors to higher posts and one of the senior officers protested against and left the meeting. The officer who was to the rank of Under Secretary also in protest against the violation of service rules refused to sing the minutes of in the DPC meeting.
Sources said fraudulent training has become a business in the J&K Fire Services and some firemen were sent to Nagpur and other places for training ignoring the juniors. Likewise some blue eyed boys were promoted as storekeepers to create a way for them for quick promotions in future too while the deserving were ignored altogether. A hue and cry was raised against the same in DPC meeting and some officers protest against the promotion of firemen as storekeepers etc in fraudulent manner. Even in employment list some of the relatives of officers and their close aides were appointed, sources added.
Sources said the state of affairs has deteriorated in J&K Fire Services to such an extent that senior officers have not been transferred for over eight years now. Even those due for promotions have been ignored, sources added. Sources said that even there is no check on purchases made by the Department and the monopoly of higher authorities prevails there too.
Sources said the machinery was purchased by some top officers and bureaucrats to mint money despite the general opinion of the organization that such type of costly machinery was not needed for the State. The machinery was purchased despite a delegation of the senior officers meeting the then Chief Minister Dr Farooq Abdullah and giving him a written memorandum asking him that the purchase of such machinery was not needed for the J&K and crores of rupees spent on its purchase will be blocked unnecessary, sources added. Sources said going against this opinion some of the top officers and bureaucrats, purchased Snorkel two units for the State and both are lying idle at present. One machine costs Rs 5.50 crore. This has been done when already four units of these machines are existing in the State.
Faced with man power shortage, the functioning of fire services has come to stand still in the State with authorities at the helm of affairs taking no effective steps in improving the same. According to sources out of 3500 posts in the J&K Fire Services 1000 are lying vacant but no steps have been taken to fill up the same as the Department has not yet overcome the Tral-Pulwama recruitment effect after which the performance of the organization is under clout due to the dubious and controversial role. Sources said the J&K Fire Services organization is totally in shambles at present but no effective steps are being taken at Government side to improve the same. What has been more cause of concern is that the enquiry ordered after Dastgeer Sahib Shrine fire incident one year back and New Secretariat fire episode recently the working of fire services has been totally ignored and its functioning was not touched by the Committee.
The Committee was supposed to say that whether the functioning of the Fire Services is up to the mark and what steps need to be taken for the improvement of its functioning, sources said, adding there is a dearth of team leaders i.e the fire fighting team supervisory staff in the organization. The vacuum created thus has affected the functioning of the organization. Another major drawback the organization is having is that there is no training centre for the firemen and officers in the State. The authorities also did not pay any attention to the opening of training centres faring that the Tral effect in recruitment process would have been exposed, sources added.
Sources said that the organization has created over 60 stations without formal sanction by Government. This has also affected the working and performance of fire services in the State and demoralized the staff, sources added. The constant stagnation to the staff which is facing staleness due to denial of promotion chances has demoralized the staff, sources said, adding the senior officers are at same place of posting and on the same posts which they were holding over a decade back.
Sources said there is no proper transfer policy in the organization due to increasing political influence and for decades together no transfers have been made even after the promotions.
Terming the functioning of the fire Services equivalent to Chinar effect of Kashmir which does not allow anything to grow beneath it same has been the role of higher ups in the organization. |
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