PROMOTION OF 14 MC OFFICIALS CANCELLED

LUDHIANA: Fourteen superintendents of various municipal corporations in the state received a major setback on Tuesday as the local bodies government revoked their promotion orders issued ahead of the poll code in Punjab. The previous Akali-BJP government had promoted these officers to the post of secretary on December 30 last year, while the election code of conduct came into force on January 4.

Additional chief secretary Satish Chandra, who issued the cancellation order on Tuesday, said the officers were promoted without the holding a meeting of the departmental promotional committee (DPC). The order has been issued after taking approval of the local bodies minister Navjot Singh Sidhu.

The order states the posts of secretary should be filled by giving promotions on basis of seniority-cum-merit and through the standard process, including the DPC meeting, in future.

The 14 affected officers are Jasdev Singh Sekhon and Surinderpal Singh from Ludhiana, Dinesh Jyoti, Lalita and Vikrant from Jalandhar, Subash Chander, Sushant Bhatia and Vishal Vadhawan from Amritsar, Kulwinder Singh and Tejinder Pal Singh from Bathinda, Neeraj Jain from Phagwara, A jay Kumar from Patiala Ranje ev Kumar from SA SN agar and Amardeep Singh from Moga.

After they were promoted, some superintendents had raised objection. Hartej Singh, an official of the Ludhiana MC, had also moved the Punjab and Haryana high court against the order. Sources said seniority and merit of other superintendents at various municipal corporations in the state were ignored while passing the order.

EARLIER POSTED AS SUPERINTENDENTS IN VARIOUS CIVIC BODIES IN STATE, THEY WERE MADE SECRETARIES AHEAD OF ASSEMBLY ELECTIONS