The services of 880 engineering graduates in J&K have been officially regularized, marking a historic milestone. The J&K Electrical Engineering Graduates Association (JKEEGA) expressed their heartfelt gratitude to the Lieutenant Governor administration for fulfilling their long-standing demands.
The announcement brought immense joy to the engineers who had struggled for decades to achieve this recognition. Following the government’s decision, JKEEGA president Nasir Ahmed held a press conference in Srinagar, expressing their gratitude for what they described as “dreams coming true.”
“This decision is truly historic, as no previous government has undertaken regularization on such a massive scale,” Ahmed remarked. He highlighted the injustices faced by several officials in the past due to the neglect of their genuine demands by successive governments.
“We extend our sincere thanks to LG Manoj Sinha, Chief Secretary Arun Mehta, and Secretary to Jal Shakti Shaleen Kabra. The entire process was carried out transparently and within a specified timeframe by the current regime,” Ahmed acknowledged.
Providing details about the regularization, he explained that the process involved the regularization and promotion of 70 Executive Engineers to the position of Superintending Engineers.
One of the engineers shared a glimmer of hope, recalling that the State Administrative Council of J&K had approved the regularization proposal for Power Engineers on October 22, 2019. The SAC had directed the proposal for Regular Promotion in the Engineering cadre of the Power Development Department to be processed without reference to the Jammu and Kashmir Public Service Commission, as a one-time exception. The process was to be completed by November 30, 2019.
Earlier this year, on July 23, the Association of All Engineers of the Power Development Department appealed to LG Manoj Sinha to address their demands, including the regularization of various employees, filling vacant posts, and addressing promotion issues.
In their letter to the LG, the engineers expressed their deep concern about the neglect they had faced from successive governments regarding their future prospects.