Minister for Horticulture, Syed Basharat Bukhari today said that the steps are afoot to ensure that proper augmentation of the human resource of the horticulture department so that the process of implementation of various programmes undertaken for giving a fillip to this vital sector is accelerated.The Minister was speaking at a meeting convened to discuss the process of fast pacing of various vacant vacancies in the department today. Secretary Horticulture, Manzoor Ahmad Lone, Chairman SSRB and other senior officers were present.While directing the Chairman SSRB to expedite the filling of various vacant posts already referred to the agency, the Minister said that the Department is suffering on account of the paucity of manpower and human resource as the delivery of the required services to the growers of the State is getting hampered. He said that since the horticulture sector is the mainstay of the economy of the state so it is imperative that necessary steps are taken to provide the requisite services to the horticulturalists and the adequate human resource is imperative for the successful implementation of various welfare schemes undertaken in the sector.
Bukhari also directed for fast-tracking the filling of 286 posts referred already to the SSRB and said that they should be filled immediately within a gap of two months preferably up to ending December 2017. He also directed the officers to ensure that the Departmental Committees constituted at district level for filling up of the class fourth posts should immediately dispense with the process of conducting interviews/viva voce and the selection should be purely done on the merit basis so obtained in the written test in accordance with existing recruitment rules to ensure total transparency in the system.The Minister directed for convening the Departmental/ Divisional Promotion Committees at an earliest so that the promotions are given to the eligible officials which would also address the stagnation of service careers. He said that the same would go a long way in addressing the career progression of the officials which would also increase the deliverance system and create a better working atmosphere.