The Jammu & Kashmir Engineering community has urged the Honourable Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to ensure a dedicated budgetary provision for the Assured Career Progression (ACP) scheme in the upcoming session and facilitate its immediate implementation.
The President JKMEGA, Er Firdous Ahad Bhat conveyed that demand for ACP is not new the scheme was approved in the 2017-18 budget session and subsequently cleared by then the Cabinet.
However, despite formal approval, no SRO was issued, and the scheme was never implemented, leaving engineers in a state of prolonged stagnation and uncertainty.
As Engineers are the backbone of development, ensuring essential services in infrastructure, healthcare, water supply, power, and road connectivity. Despite their unparalleled contributions, including their role during the COVID-19 crisis, they continue to be deprived of structured career progression.
76% of engineers retire at entry-level positions, a glaring disparity when compared to administrative ,police services, Doctors etc which have well-defined promotional avenues.
The lack of cadre expansion since 1997 has only worsened the stagnation, leading to low morale, talent drain, and inefficiency in service delivery.
The long wait of decades and last seven years for implementation of approved ACP SRO , clearly shows the casual appeal towards the actual development warriors of J&K ( Engineers) and this state of affairs has further deepened this crisis and demoralised the engineering community.
JKMEGA strongly appeals to the Honourable Chief Minister to allocate funds for ACP in this budget session and ensure its long-overdue implementation.
Engineers in other states and central departments receive three time-bound promotions in 15 years—J&K must align with national standards and uphold the dignity of its engineering workforce.
The previous failure to issue the required SRO after approving ACP in the 2017-18 budget and Cabinet must not be repeated. This is an opportunity to restore faith, boost morale, and empower engineers from all wings / departments of Civil , Mechanical and Electrical to drive the region’s progress. JKMEGA remains hopeful that this long-pending reform will finally be executed.
