SANT KUMAR SHARMA
Jammu, December 4:
The state government has failed to give the chief secretary’s grade to several IAS officers despite at least four vacancies. The IAS officers become entitled to this grade, with a basic of Rs 80,000, after completing 30 years of service.
Presently, there are only three officers in J&K who are placed in this grade, the Chief Secretary, Mr S S Kapur, and Mr S S Sahni, the Resident Commissioner of J&K operating out of 5 Prithviraj Road, Delhi, and the Financial Commissioner (Home), Mr Samuel Verghese.
Mr Sahni is the seniormost IAS officer in the state and Mr Kapur had superseded him last year.
Several IAS officers of J&K cadre, who have already completed 30 years of service, are eligible for the chief secretary’s grade. The frontrunners in this race are Mr Pervez Dewan, Mr Anil Goswami, Mr Pankaj Jain and Mr Iqbal Khandey.
Mr Goswami, Mr Jain and Mr Khandey are all from the 1978 batch of the IAS and became eligible, for the next higher grade, almost over two years ago i.e. in January 2008.
The Kumar couple, Dr Arun Kumar and Mrs Sonali Kumar, of the 1979 batch, also became eligible for the chief secretary’s grade in January this year.
In fact, after a month, some more officers, of the 1980 batch, will also become eligible for the chief secretary’s grade.
The General Administration Department (GAD) has maintained a pregnant silence over the available vacancies.
A former chief secretary, however, said that there is an established system now, in prevalence since the days of Ashok Jaitley in J&K. Under this system, at any given time up to seven IAS officers be given the top grade (Rs 80,000 as basic salary now). Similarly, up to seven IPS officers can also be given the equivalent rank, being designated ADGPs, and also given consequent salary benefits. As such, besides the DGP heading the state police, six other officers are presently placed in the top most grade with Rs 80,000 as basic salary.
He wondered why, despite having put in 30 years of service, IAS officers like Anil Goswami, Pankaj Jain and Iqbal Khandey had not been given the top grade, despite vacancies.
He pointed out that the basis of denial of this grade to Mr Khandey could be his alleged involvement in a case now under investigation by the CBI. But he felt that his batchmates, Mr Goswami and Mr Jain, were being denied their dues because they were not getting adequate political backing.
Elaborating, another former bureaucrat explained that by January 2010 (barely a month later, from now), three more IAS officers, namely Mr R K Jerath, Mr A.K. Angurana and Mr P G Dhar Chakraborty, all hailing from 1980 batch, will also become eligible for the chief secretary’s grade.
A couple of years ago, senior IAS officers like Mr Vijay Bakaya, Mr B R Singh, Mr B L Nimesh, Mr S L Bhat, Mr S V Bhave, Mr Ajit Kumar and Mr B R Kundal, were all enjoying the perks or rank of chief secretary, simultaneously.
In fact, Mr R K Takkar, an IAS officer of the 1961 batch, had become chief secretary after 25 years of service, in 1986. Presently, IAS officers with more than 30 years of service are languishing without being given the notional benefit of rank, and a small raise in salary. Some officers due for the promotion to the rank of CS said that the promotion to the next higher rank will give them barely Rs 2,000 per month more than the salaries they were drawing presently.
Promotion in due course of time is a morale-booster and that is one thing why they were looking forward to it, they pointed out, more than the monetary benefit they will derive from the higher rank. |
