Srinagar: This happens in Kashmir only. A matriculate, Ram Pal Sharma is the Managing Director (MD) of J&K Housing Board.
Sharma, who was engaged as a junior assistant/Typist in J&K Housing Board in 1981, is now the MD of the Board with the blessings of Deputy Chief Minister Tara Chand, who was the Chairman of the Board.
Before Sharma, the post was held by a technical person of the level of Chief Engineer because the department has been established particularly for construction works in Jammu and Kashmir.
Official documents in the possession with CNS reveal that Sharma was engaged in the department as a Junior assistant/Typist vide order number HB/Estt/8/81/377-78, dated 01-05-1981 for the period of one month.
RP Sharma served as Junior assistant/Typist in the Housing Board for one year, 7 months and 22 days in 1981-82. He was promoted as Junior Stenographer on 24-12-1982 in 1150-2050 pay grade.
On 17-01-1991, RP Sharma was again promoted as Senior scale Stenographer in 2000-3200 grade. On 10-07-1999, Sharma was again promoted as Liason Officer in 7500-12000 grade.
Again in 2007, an unprecedented change was effected in the hierarchy of the J&K Housing Board, by virtue of which the post of Deputy Secretary was created only to accommodate Sharma. He was later elevated to the rank of Secretary.
However, the order issued by the MD at that time, promoting Sharma as Secretary faced strong objections from the Board of Directors. The other Board members were all senior IAS officers. In the meeting held on 21.05.2010, they openly criticized the promotion of RP Sharma to the rank of Secretary, to the utmost embarrassment to Deputy CM Tara Chand, who was chairing the meeting.
The Board of Directors, including the then Commissioner Secretary, said that Sharma was not qualified for the gazetted post of Secretary, which has been always held by a KAS Officer. Sources said that senior Board members even directed Sharma to leave the meeting venue.
Subsequently, an order was issued on June 25, 2010 withdrawing and canceling the illegal promotion of Sharma to the post of Secretary. But Deputy Chief Minister Tara Chand intervened, and ensured that Sharma is promoted to Secretary’s rank. On April 10, 2012 RP Sharma was promoted as Secretary of the Board, overlooking the objections of the Board of Directors.
On September 4, 2013, the J&K Cabinet, vide its decision No. 196/25/2013 ordered the transfer of Kiran Wattal, the then Managing Director of J&K Housing Board, to Jammu Municipal Corporation as Commissioner. In a seemingly simple move, the additional charge of Managing Director of the Housing Board was given to Ram Pal Sharma till further orders.
Even after a year, Sharma, a matriculate, is still holding the charge of the Managing Director of J&K Housing Board.
RP Sharma got his first major appointment as Liaison Officer of the Housing Board, and was later was promoted as Deputy Secretary in 2004, by superseding many officers senior to him. The documents available with the CNS show the Deputy Chief Minister approved Sharma’s promotion as Secretary in the grade of 15600-39100 with pay band of Rs 7600 on May 14, 2010.
The approval letter said that Sharma would take the charge of Secretary on the transfer of the then Secretary Fayaz Ahmad Bala, a KAS Officer.
A letter was shot the next day to the Commissioner Secretary, General Administration Department (GAD) by the MD of the Housing Board, asking GAD not to depute any officer as Secretary to J&K Housing Board, and to depute only Deputy Secretary in the future.