Salaries of Kashmir engineers withheld for non-performance

Jammu and Kashmir Public Health Engineering (PHE) Minister Sham Lal Sharma Sunday ordered the immediate removal of a top engineer from his post and withheld salaries of other senior engineers for their "non-performance".

This was announced by the minister in his address at a one-day convention of the Indian National Trade Union Congress in Udhampur town, 64 km from here.

Sharma said the engineers had performed poorly in achieving developmental targets and also ignored orders to hold departmental promotion committee meetings every six months.

He said instructions for convening such meetings every six months in the divisions were given by the administrative department.

But a majority of engineers did not implement those instructions, resulting in unnecessary delay to employees in getting promoted.

"Since it is a serious lapse on the part of executive engineers of the PHE, irrigation and flood control departments, salaries of all such officers shall remain withheld till they convene the departmental meetings," the minister said.

He warned "non-performing" engineers with strict action, and said everyone has to understand his/her responsibility and must provide best service to the public.

Sharma also directed the engineers to attend to people's problems on a priority basis and address pending issues related to compensation to those whose lands have been acquired for developing PHE schemes.