Srinagar 19 Aug(KNB): Questions have been raised over the procedure followed in the absorption of several employees from different Government departments into the Jammu and Kashmir Energy Development Agency (JAKEDA), with available records showing that officials originally belonging to departments including Power Development Department (PDD), Public Health Engineering (PHE), Public Works Department (PWD) and Industries & Commerce were subsequently declared members of the JAKEDA service.
A Government Order issued by the Science and Technology Department on June 13, 2018 — Government Order No. 23-ST of 2018 — declared eight engineering officials working in JAKEDA as members of the service at its initial constitution.
The order names Maqsud Ali Banka, Khalid Mehmood, Mohd Yousuf Bhat, Khalid Raja, Niyaz Ahmad Bhat, Rahul Rathore, Abid Ali Banka and Owais Anwari, while also indicating their respective parent departments.
Questions have since emerged regarding the administrative process followed for their absorption, including whether the necessary clearances from their parent departments were obtained and whether their lien in the respective departments was formally dealt with in accordance with the applicable rules and procedure.
Sources familiar with the matter have claimed that parent-department No Objection Certificates (NOCs) and other documents relating to the absorption process were not available in the records examined by them. However, KNB could not independently verify whether such documents or approvals may exist in other official records.
The matter has also drawn attention following a 2026 relieving order involving an engineer who had been serving in JAKEDA but continued to be treated as an employee of the Power Development Department and was formally relieved to return to his parent department.
While the service status of the engineer mentioned in the 2026 order may not necessarily be comparable to that of the eight officials declared members of the JAKEDA service in 2018, the order raises questions about the different categories of employees serving in JAKEDA and the procedures governing deputation, absorption and retention of lien in parent departments.
The JAKEDA Service Recruitment Rules, 2017 provide the framework for the constitution and recruitment of the agency’s service. The 2018 Government Order also invokes Rule 3 of the Rules while declaring the eight officials as members of the service.
The key question, therefore, is whether all administrative formalities required under the applicable rules and Government procedure were completed before the officials were formally brought into the JAKEDA service and, if so, through which orders or approvals their status in their respective parent departments was regulated.
The matter assumes significance as the officials continued in the JAKEDA service and, in some cases, were subsequently promoted. Maqsud Ali Banka and Mohd Yousuf Bhat, listed at serial numbers 1 and 3 respectively in the 2018 order, have since retired, according to information available to KNB.
The issue is not related to the conduct, eligibility or individual actions of the employees concerned. Rather, it concerns the administrative procedure followed in constituting the JAKEDA service and the documentation and approvals relating to the movement of employees from their parent departments.
KNB has sought clarification on whether parent-department NOCs or other necessary clearances were obtained, how the lien and service status of the concerned officials in their parent departments was regulated, and whether any separate approval or subsequent Government order was issued in connection with their absorption into JAKEDA, However, despite repeated attempts, the concerned officials could not be contacted for their comments.(KNB)