ARTEE/P/CEO(PB)/2010/08                                                                    03/08/2010

Sh. B.S. Lalli, IAS                                                                             
Chief Executive Officer
Prasar Bharati
New Delhi

            SUB: Request for releasing the long pending list of JTS to STS Promotion

Sir,
            We are at pains to bring to your kind notice that some of the long pending decisions which have been agreed upon at your end are not being implemented by the Directorate. The net result is growing anxiety and frustration amongst almost all cadres.

Sir, it is worthwhile here to point out that the JTS to STS promotion list which should have been released in the month of July has not yet been released for reasons best known to AIR Directorate. The members of AIR and DD Engineers Association (ADEA), who had withdrawn their Dharna on your kind assurance, have been once again forced to resort to another round of Dharna crying for justice.

It is worth mentioning here that the promotions in almost all cadres of AIR & DD are almost at standstill, and it is after a long time that some employees of engineering cadres are getting a few promotions. Today the promotions have become a dream for our cadres. The average time period for promotion in subordinate cadres like Engineering Assistant, Technician etc is about 20 – 25 years now. The promotions are available only due to the retirements and promotions in higher cadres as there is no sanction of posts in any cadres on one side and the undue abolition of 2/3rd of the vacant posts for the 10 years from 1999 to 2009 despite the continuous efforts of ARTEE to avoid such abolition for our cadres, being operational cadres and thereby exempted from such abolition. Under these circumstances, our members eagerly wait for any available vacancy, for promotions in the entire chain.

So it was considered as a boon for the employees from the cadre of ASE (JTS) down to Helper that Ministry has agreed for promotion to the 257 vacant posts in STS from JTS, though the eligible candidates were only 216 earlier and subsequently it was brought down to 198 upto 31st July 2010 which has unfortunately been further reduced with the retirement of 3 candidates in July 2010. The total promotions, as a result of this promotion, in entire engineering fraternity will be as under:

• JTS to STS      : 198
• AE to JTS        : 99 (another 99 for Direct Recruitment)
• SEA to AE       : 99
• EA to SEA       : 99
• Sr. Technician to EA: 20 (remaining 79 for Direct Recruitment)
• Technician to Sr. Technician: 20
• Helper to Technician: 4 (remaining 16 for Direct Recruitment)
• Khalasi to Helper: 2 (another 2 for Direct Recruitment)

Therefore total vacancies for promotions from JTS to Khalasi in this chain is: 198+99+99+99+20+20+4+2 = 541

As per existing reservation rules, 15% for SC and 7.5% for ST candidates (there may be some variation while fixing the roster). Accordingly, SC candidates to be benefited (15 % of 541) are 81 and ST candidates (7.5 % of 541) 41 respectively.

Therefore, total of SC/ST candidates proposed to get promotions: 81+41 = 122

Under these circumstances, it is quite surprising to learn that the promotion list of JTS to STS is not being released despite a go ahead from your end. ARTEE is therefore supporting ADEA in its ongoing agitation for promotions of 541 engineering employees in totality. It is once again worth emphasizing that this chain will also benefit 122 SC/ST employees.

Sir, we’d like to highlight that;

• Your goodself had directed the administration of DG:AIR to update the eligibility lists, by maintaining the roster as per the rules way back in the year 2007. O/O DG:AIR had also assured Honorable Parliament in the year 2008 that corrections will be made immediately.  But unfortunately the administration was least bothered about the issue and now, the employees are being punished for the delay and negative approach of the administration. The well wishers of employees should have demanded the immediate action against erring officials for the purposeful delay, dereliction of duties and disobedience of the highest authority. Further it is the basic principle & policy of any welfare Association/ Union that it will stand for the larger interest in general and for the interest of lower cadres in particular. Accordingly you will also agree that it will be cruel to the 122 Nos. of SC/ST candidates, ranging from Helper to ASE, if their promotions are delayed/ denied for the sake of three or four STS/JAG officers Station Engineers / Superintending Engineers, if there were any irregularities at all, in their promotion orders, which can be rectified any time. You may also agree that these 122 employees belonging to lower cadres also have the fundamental rights and interest at par with that of few STS/JAG officers! It would be therefore helpful that the review of Roster & past promotions should be done in parallel with the present promotions – to save time and money.

• The disputes (created by the O/O DG:AIR) on abolition of posts, objections on regular promotions etc were nullified by the letter dated 31.3.2010 issued by the Ministry of I&B (Cadre controlling authority for Group A cadres) in which DG:AIR was directed to provide Regular promotions to all available vacancies in the staff strength of 585 no of posts in STS cadre, 721 posts in JTS cadres etc. (all posts without any abolition). It is astonishing that officials from administration have written again in file, in the month of July 2010 that clarifications from Ministry of I&B be sought again on abolition of posts in STS & JTS cadre even after the concrete decision from Ministry to fill up all the posts has been communicated to the Directorate . The DPC for the promotions are repeatedly being interrupted on various excuses even after the clearance of roster from 2006 to 2010 by the Liaison Officer.

• The officers in administration of DG: AIR are still advocating for adhoc promotions despite the instructions from Ministry to grant regular promotions. Our apprehension is that these facts might be a pointer towards some conspiracy of Prasar Bharati Management to destroy the regular posts of employees of AIR & DD and to strengthen the movement towards contractual system of employees in Prasar Bharati.

We therefore demand that the pending list of JTS to STS list may please be released as soon as possible, failing which we will be forced to escalate the nature of our support to the ongoing agitation.

It is also demanded that Prasar Bharati should ensure proper maintenance of roster in all cadres and take corrective steps to remove the irregularities, if any. Any official who has been disadvantaged due to some irregularity in roster should also get due benefits. But, it needs to be emphasized that such exceptions of past should not be used as tool to stop the promotions of the entire chain of engineering employees.

                                                Thanking you,
                                                                                                            Sincerely Yours

                                                                                                            (Anilkumar S)
                                                                                                            President

Copy for kind information to:

• Smt.Ambika Soni, Hon’ble Minister for I&B, New Delhi
• Sh.Raghu Menon IAS, Secretary, Min.of I&B, New Delhi
• Smt.Mrinal Pandey, Chairperson, Prasar Bharati Board, New Delhi
• Ms.Noreen Naqvi, Director General, All India Radio, New Delhi
• Smt.Aruna Sharma IAS, Director General, Doordarshan, New Delhi