Though Mehbooba government is undertaking reshuffle in the lower, middle and upper rungs of civil administration from time to time but even today dozens of senior officers are holding additional charges of several key positions left vacant by the superannuation of some officers in the middle and upper rungs of civil administration. Even today when the government chooses to fill the vacant positions of CEO ERA, one senior officer Saughat Biswas the incumbent Transport Commissioner was given the additional charge of the administrative secretary of the Information Technology department. One wonders as to how Biswas running the office of Transport commissioner outside the civil secretariat can find time to attend civil secretariat for taking care of the routine official work at the office of administrative secretary Information Technology. Similarly Riyaz Wani a middle rung KAS officer has been appointed new commissioner Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) but asked to hold the additional charge as Director Urban Local Bodies Kashmir. People in Kashmir also fail to understand that how Riyaz Wani who has to carry a huge burden of running a bigger institution like Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) can take care of the office of Director Urban Local Bodies under whose supervision the Municipal Committees and Municipal Councils are run in Kashmir Valley. Unfortunately the key positions of administrative Secretary Tourism, administrative Secretary Information and administrative Secretary Revenue are lying vacant for quit some time and this in itself is an indication that government is not bothered about the working of departments rendered virtually headless in absence of full fledged administrative secretaries and directors of the key departments in Kashmir valley .
Political wisdom demands that Chief Minister invokes fresh decisions to fill all the vacant positions the additional charge of which is held by some senior officers already overburdened with the full fledged charge of some of the key departments.
Here the Mehbooba government owes an explanation to the people of the State for its brute failure in filling the vacant key positions including administrative secretary Information Technology, administrative Secretary Revenue, administrative Secretary Tourism and Chief Engineer Irrigation and Flood Control and interestingly the officers occupying these prestigious positions in the government have to look after the public delivery system in the State. Shockingly most of the vacant key positions like Director Urban Local Bodies and Chief Engineer Irrigation and Flood Control are connected with the public delivery system during winter months in Kashmir Valley. Since the government has given up the transfer policy of the previous governments who would call cabinet meetings for transfers and postings of the senior officers of civil and police administration for deciding the issues of transfers and postings in the civil and police administration, the Chief Minister should have not allowed the additional charge syndrome to continue. Political wisdom demands that Chief Minister invokes fresh decisions to fill all the vacant positions the additional charge of which is held by some senior officers already overburdened with the full fledged charge of some of the key departments.
