The State government has resolved the issue of seniority of engineers in the Irrigation department pending for decades, paving the way for a large number of engineers getting regular promotions and regular pay scales. Several senior engineers who are holding responsibilities in the in-charge capacity would hold the positions as regular postings.
However, the ad-hoc promotions would be given subject to the outcome of cases pending both in the Supreme Court and the High Court. According the senior engineers of the department, the decision would also benefit the engineers retired without getting regular promotion and pay scale.
A total of 843 serving and retired engineers would get benefited from the decision and the financial implication on the government is likely to be around ₹20 crore. The issue of regular promotions has been pending for batches since 1997-98 to 2020-21.
It is said that the issue was pending for decades even in combined Andhra Pradesh and the efforts made to resolve the issue by addressing the cases pending in courts have ended in naught as one or another complicated the matter further by creating hurdles. Several engineers have superannuated without getting regular promotions and pay scales.
Following the advice of Chief Minster K. Chandrasekhar Rao, a high-level departmental committee with Special Chief Secretary Rajat Kumar, engineers-in-chief C. Muralidhar, B. Nagedra Rao and G. Anil Kumar, chief engineers Abdul Hameed Khan and Additional Secretary Shankar was formed to look into the issue and find a way out.
The committee held meetings in phases with several engineers’ associations in the department as also the retired engineers and recommended giving ad-hoc promotions and pay scales keeping in consideration the cases pending in courts and sent proposals for clearance at the CM level. Later, the Chief Minister discussed the issue in detail with the senior officials and has given his approval recently.
President of the Telangana Irrigation Graduate Engineers Association N. Venkateshwarlu, executive president N. Sridhar and secretary general B. Gopalakrishna Rao and retired engineers bodies on Tuesday thanked the Chief Minister for resolving the issue pending for decades. The association functionaries have also thanked the high-level committee and OSD to Chief Minister Sridhar Rao Deshpande.
