SRINAGAR, SEP 09: On Saturday, the Power Department’s executive director, chief engineers, and all engineers participated in a demonstration to call for an end to the department’s adhocism, which is impeding operations and the advancement of staff working in the power sector.
At the same time today in Srinagar at the PDD Complex Bemina and Gladini Jammu, the Jammu and Kashmir Electrical Engineering Graduates Association organised a nonviolent protest. Many engineers participated in the demonstration, and discussions focused on the problems PDD engineers faced. The engineering community was made aware of the disproportionate delay in addressing pressing challenges encountered by engineers of the former JKPDD.
The Power Engineering fraternity has been patiently waiting for their confirmation on their various posts/grades for decades, according to Er. Pirzada Hidayatullah. The rank and file of the fraternity have experienced irritation and grief as a result of the adhocism and stopgap arrangement at the time of interim promotions, which must be eliminated in a timely manner. It was explained that Chief Engineers are retiring in the grades of Assistant Engineers while Superintending Engineers, Executive Engineers, and Assistant Executive Engineers are retiring in the grades of Junior Engineers. This speaks volumes about the complete disregard and humiliating treatment of the services provided by the engineers of the JKPDD over decades, which results in reduced pension benefits.
It is worthwhile to mention that the then SAC in Oct-2019 had directed to complete the regularization process of Power Engineers in 2 months’ time by providing a one-time exception for referring the case to JKPSC and instead completing the same at the Departmental DPC level after approval from Establishment-cum-Selection Committee it but till date even after a lapse of 04 years, the decision is yet to see the ray of light.
On promotions, Hidyatullah said it was briefed that, the Department is not moving ahead regarding the In-charge promotions also. The vacuum has gone to the extent that at present there are more than 725 posts vacant in the Department across all levels.
While highlighting the massive transformation in the power sector of J&K said that if concrete steps are not initiated for immediate redressal of non-filling of vacancies it would become impossible to achieve standards and targets set by the Government for the development of the power sector of modern Jammu and Kashmir.
Further, it was also briefed that none of the Junior Engineers have been recruited since 2016 and at present 333 posts of Junior Engineers have been vacant since last so many years thereby putting the field functioning of the Department in shambles. The result is that a single JE is manning so many feeders thereby resulting in inefficiency which eventually results in high losses. The Department is working at 60% strength which is putting brakes on achieving the target of uninterrupted and reliable power supply, he said.
Pertinent to mention here that the protest was held peacefully both at Jammu and Srinagar as per the decision of the apex body i.e. Guidance Council of JKEEGA of both Jammu & Kashmir regions as per the decisions held in an emergency meeting held on 24-08-2023 wherein it was resolved as that All the Graduate Engineers of J&K Power Development Department shall submit one-day protest leave to the Government for 9th September 2023 and shall assemble at PDD complex Jammu and Bemina, Srinagar on 9th Sept 2023 to register one-day peaceful protest against non-seriousness of the Government towards their legitimate demands of Regularization, Timely Promotions and Recruitment at Junior Engineer level. The protesting engineers both in Jammu and Kashmir in a major decision collectively decided that unless some concrete positive measures are initiated by the Government, the engineers shall be forced to hold a protest again for 48 hours on September 25-26.
