| Local bureaucrats rue raw deal; demand legitimate share in administration | | Non KAS, Technical quota entrants enjoying plum postings | | Abodh Sharma
Jammu, Feb 9: Resentment is brewing amongst the local bureaucrats for persistent cold shoulder extended to them by the government and encroachment on their legitimate career curve by the breed of officers who have either managed to seep into Kashmir Administrative Services through technical quota or enjoy allegiance with the political high and mighty.
If the recent administrative reshuffle ordered by the State Cabinet is any case in point, it is disconcerting to note that none of the 130 officers of the 99 batch of the KAS has been posted either as head of the department (HoD) or Deputy Commissioner of the district, while many of those who have been inducted into the KAS through technical quota or are non KAS, have been elevated at posts of the KAS or IAS officers.
While posts of Joint Commissioner Transport, MD JKTDC, Commissioners of Srinagar and Jammu Municipal Corporations, MD Cable Car Corporation and several others are held by Non KAS officers primarily because of the political patronage they enjoy, posts of the Deputy Commissioners of several districts including Srinagar, Baramulla, Pulwama, Kishtwar, Kulgam and Budgam are held by the officers who have been inducted into KAS through technical quota, ignoring the genuine KAS officers, especially of the 99 batch who are now in the Junior Administrative Scale. Many a Chief executive officers of the Development authorities including Doodh Pathri, Lolab, Yusmarg, Aharbal and a few others are non KAS officers.
Constant apathy towards the local bureaucrats is leaving them demoralized and disinterested. "Most of the officers of the 99 batch of the KAS are nearing 50 years of age now and despite having reached the junior administrative scale, none of them has been elevated as HoD or DC, which is very disheartening" , said an officer, pleading anonymity. "While IAS officers with three years of service have been posted as DCs, KAS officers despite being promoted to the rank of special secretaries to Government continue to be ignored" he added.
"How would the government groom local bureaucrats for higher administrative positions if it continues to ignore them?", questioned another officer resenting that many officers in the positions of policy formulation and monitoring in the civil secretariat have never held a filed posting in decades putting a serious question mark on their experience and competence.
It is pertinent to mention here that the officers of 99 batch of the KAS are the worse affected as it was the maiden batch of KAS after a decade and a half as after 1984, exams to the KAS were held in 1999 only.
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