Now, a Transfer Bazar in Irrigation & PHE

In reshuffle of 25 Executive Engineers, 17 shifted in violation of transfer policy

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Jul 19: Close on the heels of a dubious reshuffle of nearly 1,000 promoted and other school teachers in the Department of School Education, as many as 17 Executive Engineers have been shifted prematurely in the portfolio of a Minister who enjoys the distinction of being an author of Omar Abdullah government’s transfer policy. Shifting of officials before completion of the tenure of two years on one particular posting, if not on specific health grounds or complaint basis, is known to be the outcome of corruption.

Without contesting harrowing details of the corruption industry, as reported in Early Times last week, Government has withdrawn the abeyance orders of nearly a thousand teachers and got all the dubiously issued orders implemented by officiating Commissioner Secretary of School Education and officiating Director of School Education. According to CID reports available with the government, transactions of over Rs 1.5 Cr had taken place as hundreds of officials did openly purchase their choice postings.

An identical exercise has now surfaced in the department of Irrigation, Flood Control and Public Health Engineering where a Commissioner Secretary issued orders of a massive reshuffle of Executive Engineers before proceeding on 5-day-long leave on July 15^th. Now close to his superannuation, Commissioner Secretary Irrigation and PHE, Mehboob Iqbal, issued promotion orders of 32 Assistant Executive Engineers (AEEs) and resultant posting of 57 Executive Engineers.

Issued in dubious circumstances, Order No: 258-PW (hyd) of 2011 Dated 15-7-2011, was selectively provided to one particular newspaper but not delivered in any of the concerned offices for the next three days. Even as today itself, Ministry of Irrigation and PHE received a letter from General Administration Department (GAD), asking for names of the officials involved in corruption-related matters and details of the departmental action, if any, taken against them, at least two of the tainted engineers were given sensitive postings on July 15^th.

Government has sanctioned prosecution of Executive Engineer, Shafat Qadeemi, on account of his involvement in embezzlement of public money in LAWWDA. In the July 15^th order, same official has been shifted from one prize posting (Master Plan Division Srinagar) to another prize posting (Water Works Division Srinagar). Similarly, another tainted official, namely Vinod Kumar Sharma, has been appointed as Executive Engineer of PHE Division Shopian. Government had earlier sanctioned Sharma’s prosecution on account of his involvement in corruption-related matters when he functioned as AEE in PHE Division Nowshera.

Then Executive Engineer of PHE Division Nowshera, Mr Badyal, has been already elevated to the rank of Chief Engineer. Before the GAD issued orders of his prosecution, Badyal remained posted on a “non sensitive posting” (Chief Engineer in Designs Directorate). Sometime back, he has been shifted to the prize posting of CE in Rawi Tawi Irrigation Complex (RTIC).

In the July 15^th order, Executive Engineer Irrigation Division Pampore, Manu Krewal, has been posted as Executive Engineer of Irrigation Division Kupwara, inspite of the fact that Cabinet has not yet created a division in Kupwara. Recommendations of creation of Irrigation Division Kupwara have been pending with the government for nearly a year now. Government is now considering to convert the post of Officer on Special Duty (OSD) with CE Irrigation Kashmir into Executive Engineer Irrigation Division Kupwara. However, necessary action has not been taken yet. Interestingly, one of the promoted AEEs has also been sent to fill up the vanishing post of OSD.

As many as 17 of the 25 Executive Engineers in the July 15^th order are those who have not completed two years of the tenure as fixed by a Cabinet sub committee in which Minister incharge Irrigation and PHE, Taj Mohiuddin, was the most vociferous member. According to highly placed government sources, Taj had laid maximum stress on the point that no official be shifted before completion of two years of tenure, until there were “compelling reasons” like specific complaints of incompetence, non-performance and corruption or health grounds.

None of these grounds have been behind the transfer of the 17 Executive Engineers shifted prematurely, some of them with frequent intervals of six to eight months. These include Shafaq Qadeemi, VK Sahwny, Fida Farooqi, Amlok Singh, OP Atri, Bodhraj (second consecutive premature transfer), Abdul Lateef Choudhary (who is retiring on July 31^st) and Naresh Kumar. Another Executive Engineer, namely Imtiyaz Ahmed Dar, has also been shifted prematurely twice in the last two years but not touched on July 15^th.

Interestingly, prime divisions like City Drainage Division Srinagar and PHE Division Nowshera, have been left vacant for blue-eyed boys but a number of Executive Engineers have been attached without any explanation of reason.

Insiders insist that a Kupwara-based contractor, Majnoon Mir, retired Chief Engineer Farooq Ahmed Wani and incumbent Commissioner Secretary Mehboob Iqbal have played key role in arranging July 15^th reshuffle of Executive Engineers in Irrigation and PHE Division across Jammu and Kashmir. However, none of them could be reached for comment.

An identical reshuffle of Executive Engineers in R&B last year, conducted by Mr Mehboob Iqbal, had eventually led to ouster of then Minister incharge Works Ghulam Mohammad Saroori. However, such apprehensions are not existing any more in the coalition government where Ministers and bureaucrats are enjoying complete freedom in violating transfer and all other policies.

END