Dearth of men, abundance of machinery
No recruitment has been made since 2010
Kashmir Press Service
Srinagar, May 18: The Fire and Emergency Services Department, J&K, has become a hub of corruption, the news gathering agency Kashmir Press Service (KPS) has learnt.
As per reports, most of the employees of the Department despite remaining absent from duties are withdrawing their salaries with ease.
As per sources, these employees are not even transferred as they are greasing the palms of their higher-ups.
It has been learnt that all the station in-charges of Fire and Emergency are supplied petrol but 40 percent of it is taken back. They are also forces to sign the statement of having receiving full quantity,” sources said.
Sources said the Director of the Department is aware of the scam and has not bothered to take action against the erring officials thereby making him equally responsible for the mess.
“Some honest officers after joining their respective stations have tried to start enquiry into the matters but are reprimanded by higher-ups for taking such steps. Just a couple of days ago, the Director paid a surprise visit to Headquarters at Batamaloo, Srinagar and found 10 fire services personnel absent from duty but didn’t take any action against them for the reasons better known to him,” reports said.
The higher officials of the Fire and Emergency Services seem to be unaware of the sensitivity of the Department. While burying the government orders, they run the Department as per their wishes and whims thereby promoting corruption.
As per sources, the Directorate of Fire and Emergency, Jammu had passed an order (Estt/DGF7ES/NFTC Trainings/2017/2805 dated 01-04-2017) that called for training course for 34 station officers/instructors at National Fire Services College, Nagpur. It has been learnt that junior officers and mechanical drivers of the Department were shortlisted for the course while as seniors and deserving ones were ignored.
These ignored officers registered protest against the move with higher-ups but to no avail. Later on they knocked the doors of judiciary which ordered hearing into the case. Then no development was made into the list created for training course in Nagpur but the Director is making efforts to restore the said list.
The KPS has also learnt that cadres are being changed which is against the government circular already issued to all the secretaries of the Department. The officers and personnel of the Department are demanding probe into the matter.
Despite irregularities, this Department also lacks manpower and no recruitment has been made since 2010. There are 175 fire stations in the State with about 2000 employees and a large chunk of these employees are meant for official works which creates hardships for those working in emergency services.
In 2003, there were about 100 stations with 3500 employees and with the retirement of employees, no recruitment has been made in the Department. Among the present employees, as reported above, most of them are absent from duties and only withdraw salaries. Besides, the corruption is ruling the roost in the Department. Even the uniform and boots given to employees are of poor quality, the news agency has learnt. Pertinently the Fire and Emergency Services department had published an advertisement in March 2013 inviting applications for posts of steno-typists, junior assistant, fireman, plumber, foreman, junior electrician, painter, fireman driver and leading fireman.
Interestingly the department conducted a physical test for the applicants from October 2013 to January 2014 and subsequently three thousand odd candidates were shortlisted for written test in July2014. Following this, a centre notice for the written test was also issued by the department in August 2014 but due to the floods that hit the valley in September 2014, the written test couldn’t be conducted as per schedule.
After keeping the candidates in a limbo for nearly two years, the department in 2016 cancelled the previous selection process without issuing any notification to inform the aspirants.
“The government has wasted our three precious years and now they are saying the older process has no significance. The department didn’t even inform us and they aren’t even giving us the copy of the cancellation order. We were visiting the department on near daily basis and they never told us that the process has been stopped. We are now mulling to approach the Hon’ble Court for availing justice”, said a delegation of candidates. Informed sources said that JKFES has 2300 staffers at present, 1282 less than the sanctioned strength of 3582 staffers. The staff crunch compels the JKFES to manage only 87 fire stations and posts instead of the existing 156 stations and posts. The leftover 69 posts and stations are managed by internal adjustment of the staff.
“We have such an acute shortfall that two fire tenders at different locations in an area are managed by single driver,” said one of the staffers though our officials are piling up our machinery with no addition in human resource.
Ideally a fire station should have two drivers, 2 to 4 havaldars and 12 sepoys to manage a station but on the ground employees said that this staff is not visible at any of the stations. On the driver count alone, the most vital human resource in the emergency services, the department is facing 29 percent shortage.
The focus on purchase of machinery according to staffers is only because of ‘commissions received from the supplier companies on such purchases’.
The staffers buttress their claim with examples. They said that recently the department has asked a Mumbai based company to supply about 700 fire hoses costing over Rs 63 lakh. “There was no need to purchase this equipment at high rates,” an employee of the department said.
“What is the fun of piling up additional 21 kilometers of these pipes, if we do not have men to manage it,” he questioned. “The stockpile of hoses and other equipment only drains resources. This unfruitful expenditure will ruin the department and the ability of the human resource to deliver in emergencies,” he said.
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