Early Times Report
Jammu, Aug 25: The Jammu and Kashmir Electrical Engineering Graduates Association (JKEEGA) has announced its plan to hold a protest on September 9th, 2023, by going on a one-day protest leave. This action is in response to the association’s concerns regarding the unresolved human resources (HR) issues affecting the engineering community. The decision was reached during a meeting of the association’s apex body, the Guidance Council, chaired by Sachin Tickoo, President of JKEEGA, and Peerzada Hidayatullah, General Secretary of JKEEGA.
The meeting was attended by Chief Engineers, Superintending Engineers, and Executive Engineers who are members of the Jammu and Kashmir Electrical Engineering Graduates Association. The primary focus of the meeting was to address the prolonged delay in filling vacant positions, which has resulted in a decline in the morale of the engineering fraternity.
Sachin Tickoo, while addressing the meeting, highlighted the dire situation caused by the numerous vacant positions throughout various levels in the Power Development Department. This includes vacancies in positions like Managing Director, Executive Director, Chief Engineers, Superintending Engineers, Executive Engineers, Assistant Executive Engineers, Assistant Engineers, and Junior Engineers. The shortage of personnel has led to engineers holding multiple charges, affecting the effective delivery of services to consumers.
The lack of appointments has had severe implications, even at the most crucial levels. For instance, the Chief Engineer of the Project Wing in Kashmir has not been filled since the retirement of the previous incumbent. This has resulted in implementation issues for Centrally Sponsored Schemes, particularly the RDSS scheme.
Peerzada Hidayatullah emphasized that the association has been continuously pursuing the resolution of HR issues, yet despite assurances, these issues remain unresolved. Matters such as regularization, timely promotions, and recruitment at the Junior Engineer level have been pending for a significant period. Furthermore, engineers have not received any regular promotions, and the lack of in-charge placements has created a substantial number of vacancies at all levels.
As a response, the Guidance Council of JKEEGA in both the Jammu and Kashmir regions has decided to stage a peaceful protest on September 9th, 2023. On this day, all Graduate Engineers of the J&K Power Development Department will take a one-day protest leave and gather at the PDD complex in Jammu and Bemina, Srinagar. The protest aims to draw attention to the government’s perceived lack of seriousness towards addressing their legitimate demands for regularization, timely promotions, and recruitment at the Junior Engineer level.
Additionally, Graduate Engineers who have been assigned additional charges by the government will submit a joint memorandum through JKEEGA, requesting relief from these additional responsibilities to ensure the effective functioning of the Department and Power Corporations. |
