Team Herald
PANJIM: At a time when service extensions across various departments are being opposed by certain groups including the Goa Government Employees Association (GGEA), the State government has granted this benefit to four officers in the Electricity Department including its Chief Electrical Engineer Reshma Mathew.
Besides Mathew, whose service extension is for a period of six months from June 1, 2019 to November 30, 2019, three Executive Engineers C H Rajagopalan, Sunil Wadkar and Devadasan A have also been granted extensions for four months each from June 1, 2019 to September 30, 2019.
The notification of their extensions was released on Friday, after approval from Goa Governor Mridula Sinha.
“The said extension in service is subject to Vigilance Clearance, concurrence of Finance Department and approval of Council of Ministers. The extension is further subject to termination without assigning any reasons at any time during the period of extension,” a part of the order of each of these officers states.
The department has been under the scanner of the GGEA for recommending extensions of most of their officers, who attain superannuation. Earlier, the former CEE N Neelakant Reddy was granted two extensions despite opposition from the GGEA. The first extension was for a period of one year while the second extension was for three months with effect from August 1, 2018.
The GGEA has strongly objected to the development with its President Prashant Devidas demanding a stop to this practice. “We will meet Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and Chief Secretary Parimal Rai on Monday regarding the extension of service across different departments. We want a complete stop to extensions,” he told Herald.
GGEA’s former President John Nazareth has supported his successor claiming that extension in service should be banned in the normal course of service. “Extensions should be granted in exceptional cases like during the war or major tragedy wherein an officer is inquiring into the matter, etc. No extension should be given during the normal course of the service,” he said.
Meanwhile, in another order, the government has appointed retired executive engineer of the electricity department Radhakrishna Kenny as Electrical Inspector under State Electrical Inspectorate with effect from May 30, 2019 to May 29, 2020. “His re-appointment is subject to an agreement to be executed specifying the terms and conditions of his re-employment,” the order adds.
