By IANS,
Panaji: Goa Civil Service (GCS) officials Tuesday met Chief Minister Digambar Kamat and asked him to remove non-GCS officials from positions traditionally occupied by state service officers.
The All Goa Civil Service Officers Association (AGCSOA) consisting of 65 officers submitted their memorandum of demands to the chief minister at his residence seeking repatriation of non-GCS officers, holding administrative positions, back to their respective parent departments within seven days.
The government’s practice smacked of unprofessionalism and demoralised the bureaucracy, AGCSOA spokesman Nikhil Dessai told IANS.
“Here we have a veterinary doctor from the animal husbandry department, who is serving as the managing director of Goa Tourism Development Corporation. These positions should go to administrators who are trained for the job. Tomorrow, you would not want to post a career administrator as the dean of a college. It is as simple as that,” he said.
Dessai pointed to four appointments made by the Congress-led government which the AGCSOA demanded be revoked.
The officers in question are Benjamin Braganza, managing director (MD) of GTDC, S.V. Naik, MD of Kadamba Transport Corporation, A.V. Palekar, MD of Goa Industrial Development corporation (GIDC) and Manoj Srivastava, posted as chief executive officer of the Entertainment Society of Goa, which hosts the prestigious International Film Festival of India (IFFI).
“The association has demanded that such practices may be stopped in future and that promotions to eligible GCS officers may be effected at the earliest so local officers are qualified to hold the positions in the higher echelons of the bureaucracy,” Dessai said.
Asked about the appointment of GCS officials to the sensitive en-cadred post of district collector, Dessai said it was up to the state government to make these appointments. “We have no problems with the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officials holding these posts. We are their junior partners and are willing to work with them,” he said.