Kochi: In a strange decision, the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB), in an order earlier this month, has raised the post of 132 assistant engineers to that of assistant executive engineers. This is while the Board is reducing staff and cutting posts as part of a cost-reduction drive.
The KSEB recently abolished the posts of 790 meter readers to save money but it had no hesitation in giving promotion to the assistant engineers, which involves additional expenses of lakhs of rupees.
The money-saving drive is being carried out by the KSEB based on a report prepared by IIM, Kozhikode.
Though the assistant engineers have been promoted as assistant executive engineers, their work will not change. However, they will get a huge raise in salaries.
With the assistant engineers getting promotion, the prospects of field staff to be promoted to that post has been blocked. The post of assistant engineer was the highest position KSEB staff joining as field workers could achieve by promotion.
Earlier, the KSEB had also raised the post of technical assistants in divisional offices to that of assistant executive engineers. The duties of technical assistants included ministerial tasks like signing of cheques. A new wing named Project Management Unit was formed and all technical assistants who were promoted brought under it. As many as 170 additional posts of assistant executive engineers were created in KSEB following this decision.
Read: Latest Kerala News