Debate on PWD CE post rages ‘CE is PWD employee’

IMPHAL, Mar 5 : Reacting to the news report which appeared in the March 5 issue of this paper under the caption, ‘PWD Engineers protest, to take mass casual leave,’ the Electrical circle of the PWD has clarified that the Engineer who has been as the Chief Engineer-in-charge is an employee of the PWD and not an employee of the Power Department (We stand corrected). A source said that the PWD has three circles, Civil, Electrical and Mechanical and added that an officer of the rank of Additional Chief Engineer, who has been in this position for three years, is eligible to become the Chief Engineer of the PWD. Earlier too there have been Chief Engineers of the PWD who were not from the Civil division, they maintained. The present Chief Engineer of the PWD is from the Electrical circle, said the source and added that other than him there is no one who is serving as Additional Chief Engineer (Regular) in the Department. Even all the SEs are in in-charge category, said the source and added that other than the present Chief Engineer there is no one who fulfils the criteria. According to the Rules and Regulations of the PWD, there is no clause which says that only Engineers from the Civil circle can be eligible for the post of the Chief Engineer. Interestingly two officers from the Mechanical circle served as the CE of the PWD