PANJIM: The bygone 2019 year had been generous to at least 400 officers across various State Government departments, for they were promoted to a higher position. A total of 78 Departmental Promotion Committee (DPC) meetings were held by the Goa Public Service Commission (GPSC) during the year in which decision to promote 400 officers including 13 from the Public Works Department (PWD) to various posts were taken.
The PWD will add three Chief Engineers and 10 Superintending Engineers as their promotions were cleared in the last week of December 2019. Sources said their induction to the new designations will be made after an approval from the government followed by a notification. “The process is still going on. After the approval from the government, their promotion will be announced through a gazette notification,” the source informed.
The vast PWD, divided into multiple sections based on the type of work carried out in the State, has till date only two chief engineers, one of whom is on deputation. “One CE holds the charge of buildings section in addition to which he is also the Project Director of JICA, whereas another CE of Water Supply and Sanitation section is holding additional charge of Sports Authority of Goa,” the source revealed. One Superintending Engineer is holding charge of Chief General Manager at Sewerage & Infrastructural Development Corporation on extension of his service.
Earlier, the department had been finding it difficult to fill posts on regular basis owing to the experience required. For the post of Superintending Engineer, minimum experience of five years as Executive Engineer is a must while for the Chief Engineer, regular service of five years as Superintending Engineer is mandatory. “Out of 14 posts of Superintending Engineer, GPSC’s DPC has cleared 10. Four are vacant for want of eligibility,” the source said.
The filling up of higher-level posts remains an issue with the Electricity Department too. GPSC Chairman Jose Manuel Noronha conceded that due to non-availability of qualified and experienced candidates, promotions are not taking place regularly.
The other departments that also saw promotions include Directorate of Sports and Youth Affairs, Health, Food & Drug Administration, Legal Metrology, ESI under Labour & Employment and Agriculture.
