In a significant ruling, the High Court of Bombay at Goa has directed the State government to end the practice of granting repeated service extensions to retiring officers in the Public Works Department (PWD). The Court observed that such extensions block promotional opportunities for deserving employees within the department and stunt organisational growth.
Hearing a writ petition filed by PWD Assistant Engineer Pankaj Narvekar, who challenged the frequent extensions granted to senior officials including Principal Chief Engineer Uttam Parsekar, Chief Engineer Subhash Helgaonkar, SIDCGL Managing Director Rajendra Khanna, and Monitoring Officer Soma Naik, the Court strongly criticised the Department of Personnel’s practice.
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The Bench noted that the government’s justification – citing lack of qualified officials – was unsatisfactory and reflected a “lackadaisical approach” in filling vacant posts. It directed the authorities to instead “infuse young blood” by reviewing and amending recruitment rules or relaxing qualifications to promote eligible lower-cadre employees or recruit fresh talent.
Calling it a “sorry state of affairs,” the Court observed that repeated extensions were causing frustration among existing staff and urged the government to act promptly to correct the system.
Advocate C. Padgaonkar represented the petitioner, while Additional Government Advocate Deep Shirodkar appeared for the State.
