THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The promotion list of assistant engineers in the irrigation department published by the chief engineer on May 29 has been caught in a legal tangle as a section of employees had obtained a stay order from the Kerala Administrative Tribunal on May 28. The list of 69 assistant engineers (civil) who were promoted from the seniority list of first grade draftsman/overseer was published as per the directive of the departmental promotion committee meeting held on May 28.
A section of employees in the overseer cadre had challenged the seniority list in the KAT because of the alleged discrimination based on the date of acquiring civil engineering diploma. In a petition filed before the KAT bench comprising V Rajendran and Rajesh Dewan on May 28, Kerala Engineering Staff Association, through their counsel K P Satheesan, pleaded for a stay of the seniority list published by the chief engineer on April 21 as they alleged that the seniority list was published by the CE overlooking an earlier stay in the case issued by the tribunal.
After hearing the preliminary arguments, the KAT issued a two-month stay on the seniority list the same day. “The KAT order was handed over to CE Alex Varghese on the same day at his office. But, he went ahead with convening the departmental promotion committee meeting and subsequently published the list of 69 promoted candidates on May 29. This is in blatant violation of the KAT order.
Also, the seniority and promotion list had violated norms in the special rules of the department and a recommendation by the Kerala Public Service Commission on selection to the assistant engineer (AE) post,” said one of the employees who lost his opportunity because of the skewed selection criterion fixed by the department.
The first grade overseer post requires a diploma in civil engineering as the basic qualification for recruitment. However, those who hold the certificate in civil engineering and enter the service as second grade overseers get promoted as first grade overseer after serving a designated period.
“This system is the same in other departments like PWD. However, there was a recent change of norm published as a gazette by the irrigation department on May 15, 2021 that said only those who have obtained diploma after getting promoted to first grade from second grade are eligible to be considered for promotion under diploma quota. That denied opportunity to all who had obtained diploma while serving as second grade overseer,” said an affected employee who prefers anonymity. The department allows employees to study for part-time diploma and degree courses to upgrade their skills while in service. Despite repeated attempts, Chief Engineer Alex Varghese who issued all these orders refused to speak to TNIE.