MINUTES OF THE AEC MEETING HELD ON 25.05.13 & 26.05.13 AT PATNA

MINUTES OF THE AEC MEETING HELD ON 25.05.13 & 26.05.13 AT PATNA

ALL INDIA ASSOCIATION OF CENTRAL EXCISE GAZETED EXECUTIVE OFFICERS

MINUTES OF THE AEC MEETING HELD ON 25.05.13 & 26.05.13 AT PATNA

The meeting was organized by Patna-Ranchi-Jamshedpur Unit in a grand manner. Sh. A. K. Singh, IRS & the former President of the host Unit of AIACEGEO was Chief Guest. First of all, the officers from all over India including the all India office bearers were welcomed by the host unit. Inaugural session was addressed by Sh. V. N. Jha (Joint Secretary of AIACEGEO), Sh. B. K. Sinha (General Secretary of host unit),  Sh. V. K. Singh (President of host Unit), Sh. S. K. Sinha (working President of AICEIA), Sh. Lokanath Mishra (President of AIACEGEO), Sh. Ravi Malik (Secretary General of AIACEGEO) and Sh. A. K. Singh. The Secretary General specifically appreciated the move of the host unit to have an officer belonging to our own cadre as the Chief Guest.

The meeting was presided by Sh. Lokanath Mishra, the President of AIACEGEO. The agenda was started with the presentation of a “HAND OUT” by the Secretary General of AIACEGEO. The minutes & decisions taken in the 10^th Convention and General Body meeting held at Jaipur on 21.07.12 & 22.07.12 as well as the minutes of the Associate Committee meeting held at Delhi on 02.12.12 and the decisions taken in the Associate Committee meeting held at Delhi on 16.03.13 were also circulated . All the agenda was discussed points wise during the 2 days meeting as mentioned under the forthcoming paras.

1. STAGNATION INCLUDING IN-SITU PROMOTIONS

The Secretary General apprised the house about the status & modalities of the Cadre Restructuring saying that around 2500 of our officers may get benefit of it. He said it is now with the Expenditure after the clearance by the Finance Minister. He also said that it has also been approved by the Finance Minister to keep only 150 (instead of 50%) vacancies reserved for direct recruitment at group ‘A’ entry level for next 5 years.

Sh. G. Srinath, the General Secretary of Bangalore Unit & Joint Secretary of AIACEGEO, said that all out efforts should be made for early approval of Cadre Restructuring and initiative should be taken for introduction of in-situ promotions scheme independent of Cadre Restructuring. He also said that he would send some papers regarding Cadre Restructuring, received under RTI Act, to the All India Body.

Sh. N. Pradhan, the General Secretary of Bhubaneswar Unit, said that Cadre Restructuring is required to be approved without any cut. The proposal approved by the Finance Minister is required to be approved finally by Cabinet and present Cadre Restructuring should be implemented at one go without providing more than 150 posts for direct recruitment per year in the next 5 years as approved by the Finance Minister. He also stated that all out efforts should be taken for introduction of in-situ promotions scheme independent of Cadre Restructuring.

        Sh. R. Chandramouli, the General Secretary of Chennai Unit, said that Cadre Restructuring should be implemented at one go without implementing it in phased manner and also it should always be approved in time bound manner in every 5 years block.

      Sh. Boota Singh, the General Secretary of Chandigarh Unit, said that all posts to be created during the course of Cadre Restructuring should be continued in the department permanently.  Agitation is required to be observed, if Cadre Restructuring is not approved immediately. Prescribed proper space and appropriate infrastructure is also required to be provided to all the promotee officers as well as to all Superintendents.  

      Mr. Rajan George, the President of Cochin Unit & Vice President of AIACEGEO, said that the DPC for promotion to the existing vacancies of Asstt. Commissioner is not being held. Cadre Restructuring of CBDT has already been approved but the Cadre Restructuring of CBEC is still pending. Cadre Restructurings should always be approved in time bound manner in every 5 years block.

            Sh. Ravi Joshi, the Vice President of AIACEGEO as well as Delhi Unit, appreciated the actions initiated by the All India Body.

Sh. V. K. Sharma, the General Secretary of Indore Unit, said that the regional disparities existed in the promotions to the post of Superintendent are required to be removed immediately. He also said that past service already rendered as Inspector should also be considered for promotions to the post of Asstt. Commissioner.

Sh. Anand Kishore, the General Secretary of Raipur Unit & Joint Secretary of AIACEGEO, said that immediate DPC should be conducted to award promotions for the grade of Astt. Commissioner against existing vacancies. He further said that the agitation is required to be conducted with AICEIA. He also added that this is not the proper time to take up the issue of the regional disparities as it may dilute our issue of parity with other counterparts.

 Sh. Tirthankar Pyne, the President of Kolkata Unit, said that all out efforts should be made for immediate approval of Cadre Restructuring. Proper persuasion should be made for it and simultaneously a proper agitational programme is required to be chalked out by the All India Body, if the Cadre Restructuring is not approved urgently. He also said that regional disparities in promotions to the post of Superintendent are required to be removed. He further added that more benefits should come to our cadre from the Group ‘A’ Recruitment Rules and in-situ promotions scheme should also be introduced to remove stagnation.

            Sh. S. K. Moorthy, the General Secretary of Trichy Unit, said that DPC for promotion to the post of Asstt. Commissioner is required to be conducted regularly.

Sh. Probir Kumar Sen, the General Secretary of Shillong Unit, said that the stagnation issue can’t be solved unless a separate service is introduced. He also said that the upgradation like 1996-97 is required to be resorted.

Sh. P. D. Nimhan, the Vice President of AIACEGEO representing Pune Unit, said that first regional disparities in promotions are required to be removed and thereafter, we should think about parity in promotions at par with Examiner of Customs.

Sh. P. K. J. Iyer, the General Secretary of Nasik Unit, said that the last Cadre Restructuring implemented during 2002 was a faulty one. All initiatives should be taken for the removal of regional disparities in promotions.

Sh. A. K. Sasmal, the General Secretary of Mumbai Unit, said that the regional disparities existed in promotions are required to be removed before implementation of Cadre Restructuring. He further said that the in-situ promotions scheme is also required to be implemented. He further added that the posts of Superintendents were required to be allotted during last Cadre Restructuring like upgradation made during 1996-97 and the all India seniority of Inspectors is required to be prepared since 1996.

Sh. R. K. Solanki, the Joint Secretary of AIACEGEO and also representing Meerut Unit, stressed not to discuss on the issue of regional disparities in promotions as the issue relates to the Inspector Association instead of Superintendents Association.

Sh. V. N. Jha, the Joint Secretary of AIACEGEO, said representing the Patna-Ranchi-Jamshedpur Unit that the maximum number of promotional posts should be tried to get during the ensuing Cadre Restructuring for our cadre. He also said that the Cadre Restructuring should not be implemented in phased manner and rule based mechanism should be adopted for postings. He further added that the agitation should be adopted in phased manner and political pressure is also required to be put for early approval of Cadre Restructuring. He also stressed that our All India Body is already pursuing the issue of the parity with other common entry counterparts which will automatically remove the regional disparities.

Sh. N. N. Lal, the Joint Secretary of AIACEGEO and also representing Allahabad Unit, said that in-situ promotions scheme is also required to be implemented for our cadre.

Sh. S. K. Jha, the Joint Secretary of AIACEGEO and also representing Daman-Vapi Unit, stressed for early approval of Cadre Restructuring. He appreciated the efforts being made by the All India Body on each & every issue. He also said that the regional disparities would automatically be removed, if we are able to get parity with other common entry counterparts. He also added that we should strongly pursue the CAT case for parity with Examiners instead of being engulfed in the issue of regional disparities.

Sh. S. K. Pareek, former President of AIACEGEO and the General Secretary of Jaipur Unit, narrated about the achievement of All India Body for getting increased the Group ‘A’ entry level posts from 1550 to more than 4000. He emphasized for implementation of Cadre Restructuring at one go and at an early date before the implementation of GST, so that the creation of more posts can be considered at the time of the implementation of GST. He also said that we should concentrate on the issue of parity with other common entry counterparts instead of raising the issue of regional disparities. He suggested that this issue may be discussed under the agenda of other points.

OBSERVATIONS/REPLY FROM THE DAIS ON THE ABOVE DISCUSSIONS-

It was narrated as to how the number of Group ‘A’ entry level posts have been increased in Cadre Restructuring proposal by the persuasions by our All India Body despite of the drastic cuts made by DOPT under consultation of former Finance Minister. A proposal to restrict the direct recruit IRS quota only upto 150 per year for the next five years has already been approved by the current Finance Minister. Board is also willing to consider the introduction of in-situ promotions scheme after approval of Cadre Restructuring. All India Body will pursue for one time implementation of Cadre Restructuring instead of phased manner. Persuasion will be made for early approval of Cadre Restructuring without any cut. If positive developments are not seen, notice will be served to opt for agitation in phased manner. Regarding removal of regional disparities and provision for proper infrastructure, separate discussions are required to be made as per agenda points. However, it was informed that our Association had pleaded before Bhardwaj Committee (known as merger committee) for preparation of common all India seniority for Inspectors who have joined on or after 01.01.96 but this was rejected by the committee and it recommended for only prospective merger w.e.f. 01.01.06. Our Association didn’t raise any objection on the recommendations of prospective merger.  There are no provisions to revert any Superintendent who got promotion on the basis of valid Recruitment Rules framed under the provisionS of Constitution of India. However as our All India Body has already filed a case in the Principal Bench of CAT seeking base cadre parity in promotions, the regional disparities in promotions shall automatically be removed. The promotions against the existing vacancies of Asstt. Commissioner will be possible only after the regularisation of ad hoc promotions as the UPSC has very strictly denied for any DPC without regularisation. Even the ad hoc promotion orders from ADC to Commissioners are not being issued as UPSC as well as DOPT is not approving the same. The regularisation of the ad hoc promotions will also depend on the date to be given by the UPSC for which the matter is already being pursued.  

REOSLUTION/DECISION TAKEN ON THE ABOVE AGENDA POINT-

The Secretary General was authorized to serve the notice for agitation, if Cadre Restructuring is not approved by the Cabinet within 3 months in the form as recommended by the Finance Minister. The modalities of the agitation will be decided by Secretary General. After approval of Cadre Restructuring, initiation will be made by the All India Body for approval of in-situ promotions scheme.

2. PAY MATTERS INCLUDING MACPS

All discussed on the subject in details and it was decided that  the All India Body would take all out efforts for early hearing of all the cases filed in the Cuttack CAT and Jabalpur  High Court on pay parity issues. All India Body was also authorized to file an OA in Principal Bench of CAT at Delhi to scrap para 8.1 of MACPS circular and not to consider granting of time scale as one upgradation under MACPS.

3. LEGAL MATTERS INCLUDING SUPREME COURT VERDICT IN CIVIL WRIT NO. 385/10

All discussed the issue and it was decided that the All India Body may file (if needed) intervention petition before Supreme Court after examining the writ, counter and rejoinder of the case filed by All India Association of Customs Preventive Superintendents with a prayer that the decision in the case should also be extended to the Central Excise Superintendents.

4. WORKING CONDITIONS INCLUDING INFRASTRUCTURE

All participated in the discussions and it was decided that All India Body should take all out efforts for prescribed official space with sufficient & proper infrastructure for all the Superintendents posted throughout the country. Sh. A. K. Sasmal was asked to send a note to the All India Body on the issue.

5. MEASURE TO BE TAKEN TO ACHIEVE OUR GOALS

Sh. Subhranshu Deb, Vice President of AIACEGEO & President of Shillong Unit,  stressed for proper distribution of 1% of welfare fund collecting evidences as to whether the  same  are being utilized properly or otherwise. He also said that the jurisdiction & functions of Ombudsman should also cover service matters. He stressed for the need of all united strong agitation by all the units. Sh. Sen added that the zonal office bearers should bear the responsibility to hold the timely regional committee meetings and play effective role in organizational matters.

Sh. S. K. Patil, as representative of Pune Unit, stressed for constitution of different committees. He said that our Association should take all out efforts for removal of regional disparities on promotions before approval of Cadre Restructuring, so that special relaxation can be made in Recruitment Rules to allow promotions on the basis of All India seniority list of the grade of Inspector.  He further said that the Pune unit would assist in preparation of such all India seniority list. Shri P. D. Nimhan asked to conduct agitation immediately to achieve our goals in all respects.  He said that detailed discussions are required for removal of regional disparities in promotions and also said that Pune unit is ready to host next Associate Executive Committee meeting on the issue. He urged to fix the date of next Associate Executive Committee Meeting on immediate basis. 

Mrs. V. A. Kolhatkar, the President of Mumbai Unit, said that Cadre Restructuring must be approved in time bound manner, otherwise notice should be served for agitation after 3 months. Sh. A. K. Sasmal said that agitation must be conducted in phased manner. Sh. M. K. Mishra, the Joint Secretary of AIACEGEO said on behalf of the Mumbai Unit that all out efforts should be made for removal of regional disparities in promotions. He also stressed for observing of agitation immediately. He also suggested that the senior most Vice President/Joint Secretary should also accompany the President and Secretary General to meet Board officials and to attend grievance redressal meetings.

Sh. T. Pyne said that all units should conduct their Annual General Body Meetings regularly in each and every year.  The All India leaders should attend such meetings to address the gathering and motivate the general members about necessity of agitation. The agitation should be observed systematically in phased manner as our goals can’t be achieved through persuasion.

The representatives of Indore Unit said that nothing can be achieved through persuasion, hence strong agitation is required to be observed. The leaders of local Associations should accompany the All India Body to go to the Board in rotation to attend grievance redressal meetings. The officers preparing adjudication orders should mention their names in the note sheet. He further said that we can’t get any service benefits through Ombudsman.

Shri Raikar representing the Goa Unit said that a good number of delegates should meet the Board officials and should attend grievance meeting regularly. He further said that the agitation should be observed, if Cadre Restructuring is not approved immediately.

The representatives of Delhi Unit said that we should be ready for strong & effective agitation and we should not expect that the observance of agitation only by a few units would serve any purpose. They further said that the actual efforts should be made in this respect instead of merely issuing the circulars. They further added that we would certainly achieve our goals, if the agitational programmes are observed in effective manner by all the units on hundred percent basis.

Mr. R. George said that efforts should be made by leaders of all units to achieve our goals through political leaders of respective local areas and more number of delegates should accompany the President & Secretary General to attend grievance redressal meetings. He further said that different committees should be constituted to assist Secretary General to achieve our goals and the agitation should be conducted in phased manner.

Sh. R. Chandramouli said that our service conditions are required to be improved. He also said that the Range Superintendents should not attend the MCM’s of audit. Since DAR is being approved by AC/DC, AC/DC (Audit) and AC/DC of Divisions should attend these meetings. He was asked to send a note on the issue of MCM to the All India Body and he promised that he would do the same. He further added that the different committees are required to be formed to assist Secretary General to achieve our goals.

Sh. Boota Singh said that the local issues should be inserted in the charter of demands to motivate common members to conduct agitation. Charter of demands should include provisions of appropriate infrastructure.

Sh. N. Pradhan said that the persuasion should be made for finalization of issues like Cadre Restructuring, in-situ promotions scheme, pay/MACP anomaly etc. If persuasion is failed, there is no other option except to opt for agitation. He also said that the decisions taken by the All India Body should strictly be followed by the units.

Sh. G. Srinath said that it is required to settle the local issues as well as issues relating to Cadre Restructuring, Recruitment Rules, Supreme Court case & Pay/MACP anomaly and the mode of agitation is to be spelled out. He further said that the persuasion and agitation should be made simultaneously.

Sh. N. N. Lal said that we should stress on persuasion as many of our units don’t take the agitational programmes seriously.

Sh. Solanki said that we should first make persuasions and thereafter should adopt agitational measures, if required.

Sh. Sampat Rai, the Vice President of AIACEGEO, said that the grievance redressal mechanism should be made strong. Sh. Pareek said that he would supply some relevant papers to the All India Body in this regard.

RESOLUTION/DECISION TAKEN ON THE ABOVE AGENDA POINT-  

It was decided that first persuasion should be made to achieve our goals. Leaders of our units should also pursue the matters through political leaders of their respective states. If persuasion is failed, the agitation is to be conducted in phased manner starting from mild programmes such as wearing of black badges and conducting of lunch hours demonstrations etc.   The Secretary General is authorized to serve the notice at appropriate time and prescribe & intimate the methodology to conduct agitation. As per the provisions of Constitution; it is the prerogative of Secretary General to form different committees to assist him, if required. In each & every such committee to be formed by Secretary General (if required), the Secretary General should be the Convener/Coordinator. However, the zonal Vice Presidents and Joint Secretaries are already working there as committees to assist Secretary General. All the regional committees should conduct meetings in their respective regions/zones on regular intervals as required. Henceforth, two delegates from different zones on rotation basis will accompany President/Secretary General & Office Secretary to attend the grievance redressal meetings to be held in the Board office. The travelling allowance of such delegates will be borne by the respective units. Secretary General is also authorized to take more delegates to whom he consider as appropriate persons to help him in discussions. All the units are required to conduct Annual General Body Meetings regularly in each & every year and they should invite President & Secretary General to attend such meetings. It is also required on the part of regional office bearers to motivate our common members to conduct agitation and make all agitational programmes a grand success whenever a call for agitation is given by All India Body. Secretary General will submit one representation to Board stating that the Range Superintendents should not attend the MCM’s and AC/DC of Divisions should attend such meetings since DAR is being approved by AC/DC. As regards hosting of Associate Executive Committee Meeting by Pune, it was decided that as per the provisions of the Constitution of our Association “The AEC shall meet at least once in every year” which is already being followed. Moreover; Shri Nimhan is an all India office bearer and the hosting of meeting at Pune was not supported by any resolution of general body or executive committee of Pune Unit, hence the suggestion of Shri Nimhan to hold meeting at Pune is not considered. Moreover, such meetings can’t be held on so short intervals. It was also decided that the Ombudsman can’t be entrusted with the responsibility of looking into the service matters. It was also decided that a separate sheet can be added by local units in charter of demands of All India Body showing the local problems to be solved by local authorities, whenever the call for agitation is given.

      6. CONFIRMATION OF THE MINUTES OF JAIPUR CONVENTION AND RATIFICATION OF THE MINUTES/DECISIONS OF ASOCIATE COMMITTEE MEETINGS HELD ON 02.12.12 AND 16.03.13

            After discussions, the minutes of the 10^th convention and general body meeting held at Jaipur on 21.07.12 & 22.07.12 were confirmed and approved. The minutes and decisions of the Associate Committee Meetings held at Delhi on 02.12.12 and 16.03.13 were also ratified and approved.

7. SUBSCRIPTION AND DONATION INCLUDING DDO CERTIFICATES

The Office Secretary, Sh. C. S. Sharma, submitted a details note on pending dues of subscriptions and donations in respect of all Units on behalf of the Treasurer. All the units were appealed to clear their dues and make maximum donations to the All India Body. The units were also appealed to deposit the relevant DDO certificates with the All India Body. 

RESOLUTION/DECISION TAKEN ON ABOVE AGENDA POINT-

All units will clear their dues immediately and also donate maximum funds to the All India Body.  All units will also submit the DDO certificates immediately keeping in view that the clearance of the dues as well as the submission of the DDO certificates by the units is the primary and statutory requirement for recognition/affiliation.

8. ANY OTHER POINTS

A. Direct communication/meeting to/with the Board-

It was informed from the dais that some units are approaching Board directly on the issues having all India ramification as well as certain local issues. Hence, it was once again decided that no unit should approach Board directly on all India as well as local issues. As per the provisions of our Constitution, all units are independent up to the Chief Commissioner level only. Board has already clarified that no representation should be submitted by any unit directly and this should be submitted through All India Body only. A resolution has already been adopted in our Associate Executive Committee Meeting that our units should not approach any authority beyond their respective Chief Commissioner for any matter.

B. Constitutional Amendment-

In the General Body Meeting held on 21.07.12 & 22.07.12, a committee was formed to look into the amendment of the Constitution to add the promotee IRS officers promoted from the post of Superintendent of Central Excise as members of our Association. Accordingly, the committee submitted its report suggesting to include the said officers as members of the Association. However, it was decided to amend the Constitution in the next Convention and General Body Meeting of the Association as it was decided in the General Body Meeting held at Jaipur on 21.07.12 and 22.07.12  that the final decision on such constitutional amendment would be taken by the house (The  General Body Meeting ).

C. Regional disparity in promotions-    

The Pune Unit raised the issue of regional disparities in promotions and asked that the promotions to the post of Asstt. Commissioner should be granted on the basis of joining in the Inspector cadre. They insisted that the combined length of service as Inspector+Superintendent should be counted for the grant of promotion to the post of Asstt. Commissioner by treating the already promoted senior Superintendents as ad hoc. The issue was discussed in length. The Secretary General said that we are already pursuing the matter of parity with the common entry counterparts which automatically solve this problem. The Association has already filed a case in the CAT for parity in promotions with the Examiners as the Examiner of 1992 has already become Asstt. Commissioner. He further said that we should not engage ourselves with intra-Central Excise fightings. Instead of it, we should fight unitedly with common opponents to get actual relief. The President defined the rule position and said that no rule allows such things. He said that this would cause litigations in the legal courts and nobody among us would be able to get any benefit from cadre restructuring while others would enjoy it. He further said that no rule permit to place any senior Superintendent to lower position and grant him/her ad hoc status. He also said that the Inspectors Association is already taking up the issue with the Board to remove the regional disparities in the promotions to the post of Superintendents from Inspectors. Sh. C. S. Sharma, the President of Delhi Unit, said that the Commissionerates were allotted on the basis of option-cum-merit at the time of recruitment, so there is no reasoning behind this notion. He further added that these disparities also arise on account of more or less number of retirements of the Superintendents in the Commissionerates. Where retirements of Superintendents are more, officers are ahead while where retirements are less, officers are behind. He also said that the scene is ever changing in the concerned Commissionerate and this is the only reason that a Commissionerate may be far behind of others at particular time despite of being far ahead of others at another time. Sh. Anand Kishore said that this move is not justified as thousands of our senior Superintendents are already waiting for the implementation of cadre restructuring expecting for next promotion at the fag end of the career. He said that the issue should have been taken up at the time of arising of these regional disparities in the promotions to the post of Superintendents from Inspectors. Moreover, regional disparities will automatically be removed if we are able to get parity with Examiners & other counterparts. Sh. V. N. Jha said that our Association is already fighting to get relief in comparison to other common entry counterparts which automatically would remove these disparities. He added that we should concentrate on the fight against other common entry counterparts. Sh. Solanki endorsed the views of Sh. Jha. Sh. S. K. Jha also expressed the same views and said that we should concentrate to get the benefits of the Cadre Restructuring at the earliest possible date. Jaipur Unit also endorsed the same views. Sh. Sampat Rai, the Vice President of AIACEGEO, said that the issue of regional disparities is basically related to the Inspectors Association regarding promotion of Inspector to the post of Superintendent. He further said that the promotion to the post of Asstt. Commissioner can never be granted by counting the length of service rendered as Inspector to remove the regional disparities. Mumbai, Goa, Indore and Nasik Units supported the views of the Pune Unit on the issue. Rest of the units asked for the time to discuss the issue with their members. The issue was discussed in lengths and as result, five units were in the favour of the move while the rest of the units were not in its favour, out of which twelve units asked for time to discuss the issue with their members.

Thus, no decision was taken and the issue was postponed for the next meeting.

D. Other resolutions/decisions-

A resolution committee was constituted headed by Sh. S. K. Pareek and consisting S/Sh. A. K. Sasmal, B. A. Chakrabarthi, G. Srinath and N. Pradhan as members. The committee considered the following issues:

(i) Provisions of Deputation in SEZ

            The issue relating to the deputations in SEZ was raised by the Indore Unit highlighting the wrong deputation policy. As a result, the divergent practices are being followed at different places. It was resolved that the deputation policy should be amended so as to enable all the members of the cadre to opt for the same. It was also proposed to depute the eligible Superintendents, i.e., with requisite service only to the post of Deputy Commissioner in SEZ so as to ease the stagnation. 

(ii) Irregularities in ACES

            The issue was raised by the Nasik Unit. The Cochin Unit appreciated the steps already taken up by the All India Body on the issue. It was decided that all the units would give their further feedback on the issue to Sh. Deb and Sh. V. N. Jha. After getting feedback, both of them will have due discussions on the same and accordingly, a comprehensive draft will be sent by Sh. Jha to the Secretary General for further correspondence with the Board.

(iii) Vigilance cases

            Sh. S. K. Jha raised the issue of negative approach by the administration in vigilance cases despite of the CVC circular saying that the opinion of the CVC is not binding and the cases may be decided on merit. Sh. Jha was asked to provide the copy of the relevant circular at an early to the All India Body for further action.

(iv) Elections by units:

            Sh. S. K. Jha also raised the issue of not holding elections in two units of Gujarat. It was decided that all units should hold the elections, wherever due.

(v) Transfer of office bearers

            Sh. S. K. Jha further raised the issue of the out of headquarters transfer of the office bearers in Vadodara Zone on account of highhandedness of the authorities. It was brought to the knowledge of the house that the issue is already being taken up by the All India Body with the higher authorities including DOPT.

(vi) Problems in all India seniority

            Sh. Sasmal raised the issue of irregularities in the seniority list of Superintendents of Mumbai. It was opined by dais that  Board, with reference to up gradation made on 30.09.96, directed  for joining of all newly promoted Superintendents  in 30.09.96 (AN). Despite of such directions, the newly promoted Superintendents of Mumbai Zone joined on 01.10.96 (AN) for which some seniors lost their seniority. Actually as per the DOPT guidelines, there is no difference between 30.09.96 (AN) and 01.10.96 (FN) and both should be considered as same. So, it was decided that all affected officers should represent to the Board for correction of seniority.

(vii) Mobile phones      

Sh. Pyne raised the point of granting mobile connections to our officers on the lines of Income Tax. Sh. C. S. Sharma informed the house that the recovery is now being made from the officers in Income Tax against Tarang mobile connections. Both officers were asked to get the things confirmed and intimate the All India Body.

(viii) Waiver of subscription of Bhubaneshwar Unit

            Sh. Pradhan asked for the waiver of the subscription of Bhubaneshwar Unit for the year of 2012-13 in lieu of the pay scale case being fought by them in Cuttack CAT. It was informed that the decision not to make any waiver has already been made in the Associate Committee meeting, so no waiver is possible. It was also said, “If waivers are to be made or funds are to be provided by the All India Body to the units, there is no use of filing the legal cases by the units. In such case, it is better that case is to be filed by the All India Body itself.” However, Delhi and Mumbai Units came forward to help the Bhubaneshwar Unit in the matter. It was also informed that Delhi, Jaipur and Raipur Units have also already helped the Bhubaneshwar Unit by Rs. 30000/-, 15000/- and 15000/- respectively on the issue and all of these units were appreciated for the same.    

(ix) On site post clearance audit

            Sh. R. Chandramouli raised the issue of on site post clearance audit saying that this work is being asked to be done from Central Excise instead of Customs. He was asked to send a note on the issue to the All India Body and he promised that he would do the same.

After discussions, the Secretary General said that a strong & effective agitation is the only key to solve our problems relating to every issue. The agitation should be “complete & actual”. If anything is decided in the meetings and promises also made by the units, the same should be strictly followed.

            In the last, vote of thanks was given by Sh. N. Pradhan. The meeting was ended by giving thanks to the host unit and Chair. Finally, Chair adjourned the house till the next AEC Meeting.

            After this, the mementoes were given to all the participants by the host unit. The Chennai unit also presented mementoes to all the participants and the members of organizing committee.

            The President and Secretary General paid their thanks to the host unit. Secretary General appreciated the host unit for the excellent arrangement.

ATTENDANCE-

The following units attended the meeting-

i) Allahabad

ii) Bangalore

            iii) Bhubaneswar

            iv) Chandigarh

            v) Chennai

            vi) Cochin

            vii) Coimbatore

            viii) Daman-Vapi

            ix) Delhi

            x) Goa

            xi) Indore

            xii) Jaipur

            xiii) Kolkata

            xiv) Lucknow

            xv) Meerut

            xvi) Mumbai

            xvii) Nasik

            xviii) Patna-Ranchi-Jamshedpur

            xix) Pune

            xx) Raipur

            xxi) Shillong

            xxii) Trichy

                       

Drawn by- Office Secretary, Sh. C. S. Sharma.