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| No administrative reshuffle in today's Cabinet meeting | | '58-60 would be a surrender, Govt may consider 60 years of age: 30 years of service' | |
EARLY TIMES REPORT
SRINAGAR, Apr 28: Contrary to the widespread speculations in political and bureaucratic circles besides media, there will be no reshuffle in civil administration or Police in the Cabinet meeting being held in Jammu tomorrow. Highly placed sources in the state government revealed to Early Times that Chief Minister Omar Abdullah would be presiding over a meeting of all of his Cabinet Ministers on Thursday to discuss certain administrative matters and policy decisions but ruled out any transfers and appointments in Police or civil administration.
There will be absolutely no transfers or appointments of civil and Police officials, sources said. They said that Cabinet was likely to discuss the latest status of the interaction between trade union leaders and the five-member Cabinet sub committee, headed by Minister of Finance, Abdul Rahim Rather. According to these sources, Government would take the trade union leaders into confidence with regard to its efforts in connection with seeking a special financial assistance from the Centre to disburse a part of the pay arrears to the state employees.
However, according to these sources, there was no consensus on increasing the retirement bar from 58 to 60 years. "Conceding this demand would be widely interpreted as Government's abject surrender before some trade union leaders and senior KAS officers and engineers who were at the verge of their retirement. Besides, it could generate a fresh wave of unrest among more than 500,000 unemployed youth who have been running from pillar to post in search of a job. Government can not afford a moratorium of 2 years on recruitment process, particularly at this stage", a senior Cabinet Minister said. He said that Government was likely to consider the proposal of 60 years of age or 30 years of continuous regular service, whichever earlier, as the new retirement bar.
Yet another Cabinet Minister said that providing the much promised government jobs to about 600 Forestry graduates, 3,000 Agriculture graduates besides 5,000 medical and engineering graduates and paramedics and diploma holders was the first and the foremost priority of the National Conference-Congress coalition government. He said that both, NC as well as Congress, had promised implementation of the 6th Pay Commission report for the government employees during Assembly elections of 2008 and it was committed to paying their salary arrears in full. He claimed that a large section of the employees had also responded positively to the proposal of 60 years of age or 30 years of service as the new retirement bar.
Sources in the bureaucracy, however, said that Cabinet was likely to envisage a fresh transfer policy for the government employees. They said that, if approved, the new transfer policy would set the tone for rationalizing the transfers across the state in various departments and offices. By giving nod to what the government has envisaged in the new transfer policy, the government will do away with the hitherto system of arbitrary transfers, mostly happening on the whims of authorities. There have also been complaints galore in the past about rampant corruption related with arbitrary way of affecting transfers in various departments which has prompted the government to formulate a new policy.
This new policy will manly decentralize the entire system by putting in place certain much needed norms in terms of tenure, place of posting etc for employees under transfer. The decentralization will also mean authorizing the officers and Heads of Departments outside the Civil Secretariat and empower them to make transfers rather than confining the system entirely on ministers and babus in the secretariat. These sources declined to elaborate whether it would be a minor change or implementation of the 1997 Cabinet decision whereby Dr Farooq Abdullah's National Conference government had approved the policy of making secretariat services transferable to all parts of the state. Dr Abdullah's Government had taken that bold decision in the thick of an employees' strike but General Administration Department (GAD) has not issued the Government order in the last 13 years.
The cabinet could also discuss and approve appointment on posts in some High Schools which had been created in the year 2008-09. These posts include those of teachers and other staff as per the requirement of these schools .Besides the cabinet could also discuss certain matters related to employees in general and associated with Durbar move in terms of their Temporary Move Allowance and HRA besides the issues related to pensioners. However, since the cabinet subcommittee on employees demands is also scheduled to meet the leaders tomorrow , these issues may come up for discussion in that meeting as well. The cabinet will also take up some routine matters like review of security in the wake of Durbar Move, a mandatory step taken every time Durbar moves from one capital city to another.
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