Jammu, June 24: The Jammu and Kashmir Agriculture Graduate Officers Association (JKAGOA) on Tuesday demanded that the service rendered by Agriculture Graduates appointed under the Rehbar-e-Ziraat (ReZ) scheme be counted for pensionary benefits on the pattern of Rehbar-e-Taleem teachers and sought restoration of Old Pension Scheme (OPS) benefits for eligible officers.
The demands were raised during a quarterly meeting of JKAGOA held at the Directorate of Agriculture, Jammu, under the chairmanship of association president Dr. Surinder Radotra. Office bearers and Agriculture Graduate officers from various districts of Jammu division participated in the meeting to deliberate upon issues and grievances confronting the Agriculture Graduate cadre.
Among those present were Prakashvir Singh, General Secretary; Charanjit Singh, Vice President; Rajiv Singh, Senior General Secretary; Jatinder Singh, Organising Secretary; Amit Gupta, Media Organising Secretary; Vikram Singh Kotwal (Bhadarwah); Shakeel Qazi (Doda); Vinod Kumar Sharma (Kathua); Rajesh Kumar (Vijaypur); Vishal Kumar (Samba); Devander Singh (Poonch); Sameer Manhas (Surankote); Iqbal Singh (Poonch); Ishrat Wani (Kishtwar); Anil Parihar (Kishtwar); Rajneesh Sharma; Shakeer Sen (Kishtwar); Karan Singh (Jammu); Vikas Gupta (Jammu); Aftab Bhat (Rajouri); Chander Mohan Sharma (Rajouri); Amit Dubey (Udhampur); Vikas Gupta (Udhampur); Karandev Singh (Reasi); Sanjay Puri (Reasi); Vikram Singh (Ramban); Jagdish Bali (Ramban); Sunil Karni (Billawar); Anil Gupta (Billawar); Vimal Kant (Bani); Rajesh Gupta (Channi); Sudhir Sharma (Mendhar); Surinder Sharma; Ajay Chowdhary; Mannu Mehta; Anil Dobila; Mohd. Anwar, besides representatives from district units of the association.
After detailed deliberations, the association unanimously adopted resolutions under the slogan “One Voice, One Solution” and decided to project three major issues before the Jammu and Kashmir Government.
DPCs, Regularisation of In-Charge JAEOs
JKAGOA demanded the immediate convening of Departmental Promotion Committee (DPC) meetings and sought regularisation and confirmation of In-charge Junior Agriculture Extension Officers (JAEOs) with retrospective effect from their due date in 2017.
The association said delays in holding DPC meetings had adversely affected the career progression of Agriculture Graduate officers and urged the government to address the matter without further delay.
Finalisation of AEA Seniority List
The association also pressed for early finalisation and publication of the seniority list of Agriculture Extension Assistants (AEAs).
JKAGOA stated that although tentative seniority lists had been issued twice by the Civil Secretariat, the final inter-se seniority list was yet to be notified, causing uncertainty among officers regarding promotions and other service-related matters.
Rehbar-e-Ziraat Service for Pension Benefits
The association strongly demanded that the service rendered by Agriculture Graduates under the Rehbar-e-Ziraat scheme be counted for pensionary benefits and restoration of the Old Pension Scheme on the same lines as benefits recently extended to Rehbar-e-Taleem teachers.
According to JKAGOA, Agriculture Graduates were appointed under the Rehbar-e-Ziraat scheme in 2007 pursuant to a State Cabinet decision and served the Agriculture Department continuously on stipend basis from April 2007. They were subsequently regularised in three phases during 2014, 2015 and 2016 after completing seven years of satisfactory service without any break.
The association maintained that this period of service deserves recognition for pensionary purposes, arguing that Agriculture Graduates had rendered uninterrupted service under a government-approved scheme and should be treated at par with Rehbar-e-Taleem teachers.
Addressing the media, Dr. Surinder Radotra urged the Union Territory Government to immediately initiate the process for conducting DPCs and ensuring promotion, regularisation and confirmation of In-charge JAEOs with retrospective effect from 2017. He also called for early publication of the final seniority list of Agriculture Extension Assistants.
Dr. Radotra said Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had earlier assured members of the Agriculture Graduate fraternity that the issue of counting their rendered service would be addressed. He added that the commitment also finds mention in the National Conference manifesto, which advocates restoration of the Old Pension Scheme.
He said that following the Assembly elections, representatives from both Jammu and Kashmir divisions had submitted a representation to the Chief Minister at the Civil Secretariat in Jammu, where Omar Abdullah reiterated his commitment to the issue.
Dr. Radotra further observed that since the Education Department has recently counted the rendered service of Rehbar-e-Taleem teachers for pensionary benefits, the government should now fulfil its commitment towards Agriculture Graduates as well.
Representatives of the association from both Jammu and Kashmir divisions have also submitted representations to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and Agriculture Production Minister Javid Ahmad Dar seeking early redressal of the pending demands.
JKAGOA expressed hope that the government would resolve these long-pending issues in a time-bound manner and ensure justice to the Agriculture Graduate cadre.
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