Early Times Report
Jammu, Apr 2: Though the Jammu and Kashmir Government is stressing on performance and adherence to rules but in the Forest department several non-cadre officers are manning the cadre posts in total violation of rules.
According to the Indian Forest Service (Cadre) Rules, 1966 the section 9 titled, “Temporary appointment of no-cadre officers to cadre posts”, reads, “A cadre post in a State shall not be filled by a person who is not a cadre officer if the government "or any of its Head of Department to whom the State Government may delegate its powers of making appointments to cadre posts", is satisfied that the vacancy is not likely to last for more than three months along with the fact that there is no suitable cadre officer available for filling the vacancy.
It further reads: “Where in any State a person other than a cadre officer is appointed to cadre post for a period exceeding three months, the State government shall forthwith report the fact to the Central Government together with the reasons for making the appointment. “Provided that a non-select list officer, or a select list officer who is not next in order in the select list, shall be appointed to cadre post only with the prior concurrence of the Central Government”.
The sub-section 4 reads, “Where a cadre post is likely to be filled by a person who is not a cadre officer for a period exceeding six months, the Central Government shall report the full facts to the Union Public Service Commission with the reasons for holding that no suitable officer is available for filling the post and may in the light of the advice given by the Union Public Service Commission give suitable direction to the State Government concerned”.
Sources informed Early Times that many non-cadre officers are holding the cadre posts for the past many months and in their case, no permission from the Union Government has been taken. “Some non-cadre officers, who have not been inducted in the Indian Forest Service (IFS) list have been appointed to the cadre posts, due to reasons best known to the authorities concerned,” sources said, adding that the cadre officers were available in the department but have not been appointed.
Raising question over the appointment of non-cadre officers to cadre posts, officials alleged that the symptom was not confined to gazetted level posts but also in the non-gazetted posts where field positions were not filled and in-charge culture has been continuing even after J&K became at Union territory. “As many as seven officers across UT are working as in-charge Conservator or equivalent posts. Similarly, many officers are working as In-charge District Forest Officers (DFOs), In-charge Range officers in different wings of the Forest department”, the officials said.
A senior official of the department pleading anonymity said that the non-cadre officers have been posted on the cadre posts, due to shortage of the cadre officers. “All the IFS cadre officers have been posted in the Territorial wing of the Forest Department but there are many senior State Forest Services (SFS) officers, who have been posted to run the system”, the officer said, adding that the arrangements in JK were not a unique case but in other states also the senior level non-cadre officers have been appointed on cadre posts by the respective state governments. |
