SRINAGAR, Sept 25: The Jammu and Kashmir Government has told the Legislative Assembly that 526 engineers of the Public Works (R&B) Department — including 124 Executive Engineers and 402 Assistant Executive Engineers — were transferred or adjusted during the recent period, while asserting that no serving engineer facing a CBI, Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), RDA or criminal case was prematurely transferred.
The disclosure came in response to a starred question by Udhampur East MLA Ranbir Singh Pathania, who had sought the Government’s response on alleged premature transfers of Executive Engineers, Assistant Executive Engineers and Junior Engineers facing RDA, Crime Branch or ACB FIRs, and the alleged relaxation of the prescribed tenure policy on the ground of “administrative exigency”.
The Government, in its detailed written reply, said the department had recently promoted engineers to higher levels and that the subsequent restructuring of the engineering cadre was necessitated by the “exigency of departmental works” and the requirement for smooth functioning of the department. The adjustment exercise, it said, included transfers.
However, the reply drew a distinction between routine administrative transfers and officials facing disciplinary or criminal proceedings.
“No in-service engineer involved in an CBI/ACB/RDA/criminal case has been prematurely transferred,” the Government stated.
The response also placed before the House a detailed account of disciplinary and RDA proceedings concerning officials associated with the Jammu and Kashmir Projects Construction Corporation (JKPCC).
In the case of Harkewal Singh, former DGM, the Government said a committee had recommended exoneration and dropping of RDA charges, a recommendation approved by the competent authority. The matter was subsequently placed before the JKPCC Board during its 100th meeting on September 2, 2026, where consideration was deferred to its next meeting.
The case of Vikar Mustafa Shunthoo, former General Manager, remains under process. The Government said the RDA, initiated in 2013, had been examined by a committee which recommended exoneration after finding no loss to the exchequer or mala fide intention. However, in view of pending disciplinary documents, a fresh one-member Inquiry Committee was constituted.
In the case of Dalip Thusoo, former Managing Director, the inquiry committee recommended closure of the disciplinary proceedings. The recommendation was accepted and the RDA and disciplinary proceedings were formally dropped through Government Order No. 265-PW(R&B) of 2026 dated July 17, 2026.
The Government also referred to another official whose case had reached the courts, stating that the officer was subsequently exonerated by the Special Judge, Anti-Corruption Court, Srinagar. It said the High Court of J&K and Ladakh, in an order dated June 5, 2026, had directed release of his terminal benefits and unpaid salary within the stipulated period.
On single-tender awards, Government rejects allegation
The Government also rejected the allegation that single-tender allotments and arbitrary cancellation of tenders had increased in the Pir Panjal Zone and Nowshera Division since 2024.
It said that during 2025-26, only two tenders in the Pir Panjal Zone were allotted on a single-bid basis at the second call. According to the reply, these allotments were made after compliance with GFR-2017 and relevant MoRTH guidelines, including adequate advertisement, sufficient time for bid submission, non-restrictive qualification criteria and assessment of quoted rates against prevailing market rates.
The Government said division-wise details had been provided in Annexure-A2.
On allegations concerning duplicate funding, misrepresentation of Rural Development Department roads or execution of works without following the prescribed tendering process, the Government said no such cases had been reported in the area referred to in the question and, consequently, no action had been initiated against any official or contractor.
It also clarified that there is no Nowshera Division under REW Rajouri, while stating that no cases of single-tender allotment or arbitrary cancellation of tenders, or violations of prescribed procurement procedures/GFR-2017, had been reported in REW Rajouri since 2024.
Bitumen, Mughal Road cases under probe/legal scrutiny
On cases relating to Bitumen/Tar (2020), the Government said the matter was presently under investigation by the Anti-Corruption Bureau.
The reply also referred to the Mughal Road (2023) case involving the Government of J&K and Hindustan Construction Company Ltd. and others. The matter, it said, was pending before the Division Bench of the High Court of J&K and Ladakh at Jammu.
The department stated that its counsel had concluded arguments on September 17/18, 2026, and that the matter had been listed for September 26 for arguments on behalf of HCCL. The Government said it was pursuing the matter through counsel to safeguard the financial interests of the administration.
JKPCC appointments: Government cites fact-finding panels
On alleged irregular appointments and other irregularities in the JKPCC, the Government said Fact Finding Committees had been constituted through Government Orders issued in 2018 and 2019. Their reports were accepted by the competent authority, following which appointment powers were vested with the Board and institutional safeguards were prescribed.
The Government further stated that JKPCC had not undertaken works or tendering processes following its in-principle merger with the PW(R&B) Department, pursuant to a Council decision dated June 21, 2023. The works, it said, had been transferred to the respective R&B divisions in accordance with the administrative department’s standard operating procedures.
The reply also stated that engineers against whom disciplinary proceedings or RDAs had been initiated would be dealt with according to the outcome of those proceedings. A list of serving engineers against whom such proceedings had been initiated was stated to have been enclosed as Annexure-A1.
The Government’s response, taken together, provides the Assembly with its formal position on a range of allegations surrounding transfers, procurement, disciplinary proceedings and the functioning of JKPCC — while placing the onus of determining individual culpability, where matters remain under investigation or judicial consideration, on the respective inquiry agencies and courts.
