ARTEE/P/CEO/PB/2009/15                                                                  11-09-2009

Sh. B. S. Lalli,
Chief Executive Officer
Prasar Bharati                                   
New Delhi                                           

Ref:  Response from DG: AIR to PB on financial implications
 
Sub: Cadre Review of Engineering Cadres – objection on abolition of posts.

Sir,

With due respect I request your kind attention to the following few lines:

The status of employees of AIR&DD was not clear since the notification of PB Act 1990 and they were unduly deprived of a number of basic facilities like medical (CGHS), housing etc. The facilities were restored only in 2007, after the intervention of the Hon’ble GoM. We submitted detailed proposals regarding our cadres to the VI CPC, but they could not consider our proposals due to the lack of clarity on our status. The govt has clarified our status vide the minutes of NFADE meeting with the Secretary, I&B held on 27/9/2007. When we approached the CPC for inclusion of our case in their recommendations we were told that we were too late in getting the clarifications and they don’t have enough time left for the study of our cadres. However, it was told that we can approach our Ministry for consideration of specific proposals for our cadres. The VI CPC while submitting its report mentioned that they have not studied our case and the recommendations in general will be applicable to the employees of AIR &DD as per the extant rules.

The Ministry & Prasar Bharati were kind enough to take the initiative for the cadre review of the employees of AIR&DD, especially on the ground that specific studies on individual cadres did not take place for our cadres.

We are grateful to the committee headed by Sh. R. K. Singh, the then CE(D), AIR and former E-in-C (TV) that the committee has submitted its report in time to CEO, Prasar Bharati.

It is learnt that on seeking clarification about the financial implications from Prasar Bharati, the O/O DG:AIR submitted its reply, proposing to abolish the vacant posts in the cadres of Helper, Technician and Engineering Assistant to show the matching and saving.

We express our strong reservations to the proposal of abolition, on the following grounds:

1. It may kindly be noted that the VI CPC while recommending specific proposals for all other Central Government employees, never demanded any formula for matching and saving;
2. It may kindly be noted that one of the reasons for the cadre review of subordinate engineering cadres was non-consideration of cadre specific proposals by VI CPC;
3. The proposals submitted to the cadre review committee are more or less the same one submitted to the VI CPC.
4. We have followed all rules as per DOP&T while preparing the cadre review proposals.
5. The functioning of AIR &Doordarshan is very badly affected due to the acute shortage of staff particularly in subordinate engineering cadres, which are purely operational cadres performing duties at 1464 installations of Doordarshan and 336 stations of AIR.
6. The O/O DG:AIR and Prasar Bharati has already approached Ministry of I&B for the restoration of the posts abolished under ADRP scheme as the DOP&T had already exempted operational cadres from such abolition.
7. It is under the serious consideration of the Hon’ble GoM for the sanction of posts in operational cadres to ensure the functioning of the new installations.
8. In response to the query from the Prasar Bharati, the O/O DG-AIR seems to have gone overboard in recommending the matching-saving formula. In the latest proposal the O/O DG-AIR has recommended that 1165 posts of EA, 520 posts of Technician and 725 posts of Helper be abolished to save a total of Rs.49,018,250 (Rupees four crores ninety lakhs eighty thousand two hundred and fifty) whereas the additional expenditure for subordinate engineering cadres after granting the benefit of cadre review is just Rs.13,410,920 (Rupees one crore thirty four lakhs ten thousand nine hundred and twenty) only. This saving is certainly not matching with the requirements; instead it far exceeds the requisite matching. The details of financial implication are attached for your kind reference.
9. Sir, it is worthwhile here to mention that a cadre review is taking place in the department for the first time, that too because the pay commission could not study the cadre structure. Thus the employees were denied their rightful dues because of delays at the ministerial level. Therefore, it will not be out of place if the financial implication angle is ignored in this cadre review exercise.
10. It is evident from the data that even if it is necessary to project matching the financial implications, the abolition of 725 posts in Helper cadre will be sufficient enough to neutralize the additional burden. By abolishing 725 posts of Helper, the department will be able to save a total of 10,585,000, thus bringing down the implication to just Rs.28,25,920 (Rupees twenty eight lakhs twenty five thousand nine hundred and twenty) only which is negligible for a cadre review taking place first time in the department.

          With the above mentioned details, I request your goodself to kindly forward the proposal of the cadre review,           submitted by the committee by ignoring the financial implication as it will be a much awaited compensation for           the employees.

          I am confident that your kind intervention will make all the difference.

          With warm regards,

Anilkumar S.
President
Ph: 9818759192.

Copy for kind information to:

1. Sh. Raghu Menon IAS, Secretary, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, New Delhi
2. Sh. V. Shiva Kumar, Member (Personnel), PB Board, New Delhi.
3. Ms. Noreen Naqvi, Director General, All India Radio, New Delhi
4. Sh. S.R. Aggarwal, Engineer-in-Chief, All India Radio, New Delhi
5. Sh. M. C. Aggarwal, CE(D), All India Radio, New Delhi

Anilkumar S.