Barely a month after the Kerala Administrative Tribunal (KAT) directed it to put in place an online system without delay for carrying out staff transfers, the Animal Husbandry department has issued orders transferring veterinary surgeons.
The online mechanism is not ready yet, but the department justifies its decision citing the delay that has occurred in carrying out general transfers in 2022 and the need to fill up vacancies to contain stray dog-related problems.
Through two separate orders issued on September 23, the department has transferred 130 veterinary surgeons on its rolls and inducted 28 veterinary surgeons (Grade-II) on a temporary basis through the employment exchange ‘‘to fill up vacancies to meet urgent need.”
‘Just a pretext’
The decision, however, has not gone down well with staff organisations which allege that the department is merely using the stray dog problem as a pretext to bypass the August 29 KAT order.
The Personnel and Administrative Reforms department had issued orders in February 2017 and October 2021 directing all government departments to create electronic databases of their staff and carry out transfers and postings only through the online system. In February this year, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan informed the State Assembly that strict directions have been given to execute general transfers solely through the online mechanism.
‘Process under way’
The Animal Husbandry department, which allegedly has been dragging its feet on the matter, says in its September 23 order that the procedures for creating the electronic database are under way. The Kerala Government Veterinary Officers Association (KGVOA) has termed the transfer order tantamount to ‘belittling’ the KAT directive. Though the department has indicated the stray dog issue as a reason, a number of vets have been transferred to posts that have no direct relation to the issue, the association has alleged.
The KGVOA had approached KAT in August blaming the department for its failure to carry out the transfers in the manner prescribed by the State government. In an August 29 order based on the association's petition, KAT directed the department to pass appropriate orders for creating an online mechanism without further delay by taking cognizance of the government orders on the matter.
The transfers of 58 senior veterinary surgeons/assistant directors in early August ignoring the online mechanism prescribed by the government also had given rise to complaints.
