SRINAGAR 17 Jul : The Jammu and Kashmir Government has ordered a major administrative reshuffle in the Jal Shakti Department, sanctioning the immediate promotion and transfer of engineering officials across the Union Territory.
According to Government Order No. 127-JK(JSD) of 2026, the department has placed 50 Assistant Executive Engineers as Executive Engineers on an in-charge basis with immediate effect to meet urgent operational requirements.
The extensive list of elevated personnel includes Rohit Padha, Sanjay Gupta, Malik Basharat Alam, Mukhtar Ahmad Khanday, Vishal Pandita, Mahesh Sharma, Gulzar Ahmad Kumar, Hakeem Zahoor Ahmad, Vinod Mehra, and Aejaz Ahmad Malik. Joining them are Ch. Sajad Ahmad, Sadiq Hussain Bhatt, Nasir Hussain Para, Gowhar Hussain Ganai, Shafkat Hussain, Vinod Raina, Sumeet Kumar, Zahoor Ahmad Mir, Zulfikar Ali, and Sunil Thappa.
The promotions also extend to Nazir Ahmad Mir, Javeed Ahmad Raina, Sandeep Kumar, Tanveer Ahmad Wani, Abdul Rashid Ganai, Ishfaq Ahmad, Rajiv Kumar, Ashish Kundan, Mohd Younis Wani, and Showket Hussain. Furthermore, Bashir Ahmad Shah, Zameer Ahmad Raina, Mudasir Mushtaq Untoo, Ghulam Hassan Yatoo, Mudasir Ahmad Malik, Mohammad Farooq Dar, Muzaffar Ahmad Dar, Mohammed Ishfaq, Liaqat Ali, Abdul Ghafoor, Abdul Qayoom, Parvaiz Ahmad Malik, Sunil Kumar, Gaurav Jarangal, Abdul Majid, Khalid Tanveer, Naresh Kumar, Rakesh Singh Manhas, Ravinder Verma, and Arif Ghulam Nabi have been elevated under the same order.
The official order, released from the Civil Secretariat in Jammu and Srinagar under the authority of Shaleen Kabra, Financial Commissioner and Additional Chief Secretary of the Jal Shakti Department, outlines distinct conditions governing these temporary stop-gap promotions.
The department has emphasised that these structural changes are implemented solely to satisfy pressing administrative exigencies. Consequently, these assignments do not bestow any preferential right upon the officers to demand promotions on a permanent or substantive basis, which will remain bound by established statutory regulations and due legal processes.
Additionally, all placements remain strictly subject to any prior or superior claims from overlooked eligible officers that are subsequently validated, as well as the final outcomes of any relevant legal proceedings currently remaining unresolved before the court. The directive explicitly mandates that should the operational needs of borrowing organisations conclude, or if the officials sent on deputation from the Jal Shakti Department are repatriated, the junior-most officers will face immediate reversion to their original lower posts without holding any valid legal claim to the financial or structural benefits of the higher temporary rank.
Simultaneously, a massive chain of transfers and new postings involving 76 Incharge Executive Engineers has been enforced with immediate effect to rationalise regional operations. Under these new arrangements, Mahesh Sharma is deployed to the Public Health Engineering Division in Udhampur, replacing Sandeep Gupta, whilst Ch. Sajad Ahmed assumes control of the PHE Division in Poonch from Vishal Thapa. Zulfikar Ali has been posted to the PHE Division in Rajouri to succeed Sudesh Kumar, and Sunil Thappa will manage the PHE Division in Doda in place of Bharat Vikas Sharma.
The shake-up also sees Sandeep Kumar taking over the PHE Division in Reasi from Naresh Kumar Gupta, and Ashish Kundan moving to the PHE Division in Kathua to replace Sumesh Hangloo. Meanwhile, Sudesh Kumar transitions from Rajouri to the PHE Division in Mendhar against an available vacancy, Sanjeev Thapa shifts from the Irrigation and Flood Control Division in Bhaderwah to the Hydraulic Division in Gandoh, Tilak Raj Sharma departs the Flood Control Division in Jammu for the Irrigation Division-II in Jammu to replace Rajesh Kumar, and Sandeep Gupta moves from Udhampur to the Mahore Irrigation Division in Dharmari.
Further field changes dictate that Naresh Kumar Gupta will shift from Reasi to the Hydraulic Division in Ramban to succeed Zahoor Ahmad Shah, whereas Rahul Kotwal leaves Rajouri to fill an open vacancy at the Irrigation Division in Kathua. Sanjay Gupta has been deployed to the Flood Control Division in Kathua, Sadiq Hussain Bhatti takes over the Flood Control Division in Jammu from Tilak Raj Sharma, and Sumeet Kumar relocates to the I and FC Division in Rajouri to succeed Rahul Kotwal. Additionally, Ishfaq Ahmed is assigned to the Tube Well Irrigation Division in Jammu, Mohd Ishfaq replaces Kumar Jatinder Sharma at the I and FC Division in Poonch, Liaqat Ali moves to the I and FC Division in Nowshera, Gaurav Jarngal is sent to the I and FC Division in Doda, and Vinod Raina replaces Sanjeev Thapa at the I and FC Division in Bhaderwah. Vishal Thappa moves from Poonch to the Tawi Canal Construction Division in Jammu, Abdul Majid goes to the Ravi Canal Construction Upper Division in Kathua, and Rajesh Singh leaves Budgam for the Ravi Canal Construction Lower Division-II in Hiranagar to succeed Anil Kumar.
The local infrastructure wings also see Gulzar Ahmad Kumar posted to the Hydraulic Division in Gurez, Bashir Ahmad Shah to the Hydraulic Division in Tangdar, and Aejaz Ahmad Malik designated as Technical Officer to the Chief Engineer of PHE Kashmir, replacing Sajid Mushtaq Pandit. Zahoor Ahmad Mir is deployed to the PHE Division in Budgam to replace Rajesh Singh, Mohd. Younis Wani goes to the PHE Division in Chadoora in place of Gowhar Nabi Khan, Mudasir Mushtaq Untoo will oversee the PHE Division in Sopore instead of Mushtaq Ahmad Wani, and Mudasir Ahmad Malik replaces Mutayib Bashir Shah at the Hydraulic Division in Bandipora. Gowhar Hussain Ganai is transferred to the Flood Control Division in Anantnag to succeed Khursheed Ahmad Dar, Abdul Rashid Ganaie heads to the Irrigation Division in Pulwama to replace Samiullah Naik, and Parvaiz Ahmad Malik assumes duties at the Irrigation Division in Anantnag, replacing Nisar Ahmad Malik. Zahoor Ahmad Shah leaves Ramban for the I and FC Division in Handwara to replace Shabir Hussain Alamgeer, Sajid Mushtaq Pandit takes over the I and FC Division in Baramulla from Abid Hussain Khan, and Sumesh Hangloo moves from Kathua to the Irrigation and Flood Control Division in Sopore to succeed Altaf Hussain Gilani.
Furthermore, Bharat Vikas Sharma has been moved from Doda to the Shahpur Kandi and Ranjit Sagar Dam Project, whilst Shabir Hussain Alamgeer leaves Handwara to report to the Office of the Secretary Technical within the Jal Shakti Department. Mushtaq Ahmad Wani has been sent from Sopore to the Water Quality and Monitoring Division in Srinagar, and Kumar Jatinder Sharma transitions from Poonch to the Water Quality and Monitoring Division in Jammu.
Mutayib Bashir Shah has been posted as an Officer on Special Duty with the Mission Director of the Jal Jeevan Mission in Jammu and Kashmir, with his salary arrangements managed by transferring an Executive Engineer post from the overall cadre strength directly to the Mission Directorate. Nisar Ahmed Malik has been relieved of his duties at the Irrigation Division in Anantnag and ordered to report straight to the Administrative Department for further instructions.
A substantial contingent of newly elevated and transferred engineers has been drafted into specialised government departments to enhance urban infrastructure development.
The Urban Environmental Engineering Department has absorbed a major wave of personnel, including Rajesh Kachroo, Khursheed Ahmad Dar, Altaf Hussain Gilani, Rohit Padha, Shafkat Hussain, Rajiv Kumar, Showkat Hussain, Abdul Ghafoor, Khalid Tanveer, Rakesh Singh Manhas, Malik Bashart Alam, Zameer Ahmad Raina, Hakeem Zahoor Ahmad, Arif Ghulam Nabi, and Muzaffar Ahmad Dar.
Simultaneously, the Jammu and Kashmir Power Development Corporation has received an influx of technical staff consisting of Samiullah Naik, Rajesh Kumar, Anil Kumar, Tanveer Ahmad Wani, Naresh Kumar, Ravinder Verma, Nazir Ahmad Mir, Javeed Ahmad Raina, Ghulam Hassan Yatoo, Mohammad Farooq Dar, and Abdul Qayoom Kumar.
Furthermore, Vinod Mehra, Sunil Kumar, Abid Hussain Khan, and Younis Hamid Kirmani have all been stationed at the Directorate of Design, Inspections and Quality Control, whilst Nasir Hussain Para and Gowhar Nabi Khan have been assigned to the Jammu and Kashmir Water Resources Regulatory Authority.
Lastly, Mukhtar Ahmad Khanday has been relocated to the Lake Conservation and Management Authority, and Vishal Pandita has been posted directly to the Jammu Municipal Corporation.
The official circular establishes that all affected engineering professionals must join their freshly designated operational units immediately.
