BENGALURU: The recent transfers of 22 Chief Engineers by the Public Works Department (PWD) by promoting them from the post of Superintending Engineer with approval of the Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms (DPAR), was allegedly done by overriding its own final seniority list announced in March this year, in clear violation of the relevant promotion Act.
According to highly placed sources in the PWD, which is the parent department for all state government engineers, the new list was prepared by some senior IAS officers in the Department Promotion Committee (DPC) by allegedly ignoring the March final seniority list “under pressure” from PWD Minister H D Revanna.
As per documents available with The New Indian Express, the DPAR had announced a final seniority list of eligible Superintending Engineers to be promoted as Chief Engineers on March 12, and these were as per the seniority list considered during 2007. While issuing another list of eligible Superintending Engineers for the posts of Chief Engineers on May 31, the DPAR overrode its own order issued in March. Sources in the PWD said this was a clear violation of the Regulation of Pay, Promotion and Pension Act, 1973, wherein the final seniority should be followed and the promotion should be given on retrospective order, based on that list. “Those who were in the March seniority list were regularised and promoted during 2007 and some of them have retired now,” the sources said.
“Instead of considering those who were promoted during 2007, and as per the final list announced in March 2018, DPAR chose to consider a new list and the seniority list was announced in May 2018, which is a clear violation because the final seniority list, once announced, cannot be changed or violated,” said an official.Minister Shivakumar could not be reached for comment.
Over 50 eligible engineers affected
Over 50 engineers eligible for promotion as chief engineers have now been affected with this alleged violation by the DPAR.On June 29, TNIE published a news report titled ‘19 chief engineers neither here, nor there’ about 22 Superintending Engineers, who were promoted as Chief Engineers, being left in the lurch as the posts were already occupied. Of these officials, 19 were posted to the Water Resources Department while three were posted to the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike. Despite several attempts, Minister Shivakumar could not be reached for comment.
Aggrieved engineers approach KAT
The engineers who were on the seniority list announced in March, have approached the Karnataka Administrative Tribunal (KAT). A hearing was held on June 25. The KAT has served notice to the state government and the next hearing is scheduled on July 18.