JAMMU: Rotation of employees completed 5 years tenure at one place was an appropriate initiative of the government to weed out corruption and dismantle strong nexus of touts operating the transfer industry in Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
However it fails to get desired attention in some departments which are always in news for irregularities in transfers owing to influential employees who prevail upon higherups in the administration.
The glaring example of this administrative hiccups is Higher Education Department where one Section Officer namely Pankaj Bharti managed to continue his stay at one place since his appointment 20 years ago.
It’s seems this blue eyed have become indispensable for HED and none other than LG can transfer him, asserted a member of Secretariat employees Union.
The incumbent Principal Secretary, Rohit Kansal must order an enquiry as to how an employee who’s not from Secretariat Service managed to continue in Administrative Department of HED at same place for more then 20 years. It’s a scandal of its own kind, he added.
“Pankaj Kumar who is currently working as Section Officer in Administrative Department of HED was engaged as daily wager in the year 2002 and since than he clings to department in secretariat despite conferred with 3 promotions”, added officer.
Unlike several junior Assistants who were appointed against the state cadre post and keep transfer from one college to others, Pankaj Kumar was conferred with status of Shehanshah and allow to keep prosperous at one place for 20 years.
There are allegations that due to prolong continuance at same place, Pankaj has created a clout in Administrative Department where he managed to prevails upon successive hierarchy of officers to manipulate transfer proposals of college Principals and Professors.
Urging the higherups in HED to transfer the official in question, a college professor wishing not to be identified said “For sake of transparency and corruption free environment, the HED must intervene in this case to keep intact the sanctity of General Administration Department (GAD) circular pertaining to rotation of employees completed 5 years at one place of posting”.
Pertinently, the LG administration acting on the dossier of Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), on September 2021 has directed the Administrative Secretaries to rotate the officers who have a stay of more than 5 years to bring transparency and curb corruption in functioning of government departments.
JK Global News made repeated attempts to seek view of Principal Secretary, HED, on the issue but he couldn’t be available due to his pre occupations.
However, reliable sources in HED reveals “The prolong stay of Pankaj Bharti as well as several cases of similar nature which also includes Professors are under the active consideration of higher ups for remedial measures to streamline transfers system and shunt out overstay employees of HED.
Meanwhile, on being contacted, Pankaj Bharti said “I am not sitting in the HED at my own and it’s prerogative of administrative department to transfer me.”