BENGALURU: There is serious confusion over promotions to the posts of chief engineers and engineers-in-chief in different departments in the state.
Government sources said that public works, water resources, minor irrigation, and rural development and panchayat raj departments had a common pool of engineers before 2021. But last year, the government passed an order splitting all the four departments, leading to problems of seniority and promotions among engineers.
Earlier, chief engineers of the Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms (DPAR) oversaw promotions, postings and seniority of all the four departments, but that changed last year. Engineers from the four departments feel that they should have been given the option to pick departments and DPAR should have retained its control. In 2020, PWD and water sources departments broke away from the common pool, leading to resentment among engineers of other departments.
Sources said all the four departments together have 51 sanctioned posts of engineers-in-chief and chief engineers, but DPAR has promoted 70 to these top positions, creating an excess of 19 engineers who have no sanctioned posts. PWD has 13 sanctioned posts, but there are a total of 55 chief engineers.
The Irrigation Department has 36 sanctioned positions, but only 15 have opted for them. The engineers have now written to Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, Chief Secretary P Ravi Kumar and other top officials to order DPAR to redo the promotions, strictly based on seniority.