Srinagar, Oct 21: The Jammu and Kashmir Electrical Engineering Graduates Association (JKEEGA) has announced that all power engineers shall go on mass casual leave and hold strong protest on October 28 against the deferment of promotions.
A meeting of the Association was held in Jammu as well as in Srinagar under the chairmanship of Sachin Tickoo, president JKEEGA and Pirzada Hidayatullah, general secretary in which members of the Guidance Council, an apex body of the Graduate Engineers of Power Development Department participated.
The members expressed strong resentment over the deferment of the proposal of promotion of Chief Engineers by the Establishment Committee headed by Chief Secretary J&K and ignoring the case of senior most engineers who are retiring in this month. The said proposal has twice been recommended by the department for consent of the establishment committee, which has turned down the proposal causing an impending permanent damage to the superannuating senior most engineers who are due for promotion since last one year now and eligible since long time now.
In earlier few months, number of senior Executive Engineers retired without due promotion as Superintending Engineer despite eligibility and vacancy. All promotions files are languishing in General Administration Department.
It is pertinent to mention that post unbundling , there has been constant systematic attempt to deprive the PDD engineers of the promotions and regularization and in recent past two years, hundreds of vacancies at all levels have piled up and despite eligible engineers being available. The situation has taken alarming proportion with positions of Managing Director- two, Executive Directors- three, Chief Engineers- five, Superintending Engineers-15, Executive Engineers-30, Assistant Executive Engineers- 94, Assistant Engineers -250 and Junior Engineers-300 vacant since over an year now.
The agreement dated Dec 21, 2021 between Jammu and Kashmir Power Employees and Engineers Coordination Committee (JKPEECC) and Government had promised to fill the vacant positions through promotions on priority and regularize the engineers as per the SAC Decision No- 258/22/2019 Dated-22/10/2019 in time bound manner. However, despite a lapse of nearly a year and three years after SAC decision, hundreds of positions are still lying vacant and not even a single regularization order has been issued till date. Even not a single recruitment has taken place since last six years post unbundling.
JKEEGA Guidance Councils in Jammu and Srinagar in their meeting held Oct 20, 2022, has resolved to observe a protest-dharna and mass casual leave of 24 hours in first instance from midnight of Oct 27 in protest against the anti-employee move.
