Srinagar: Former union minister and JKPCC president Saifuddin Soz’s daughter, Naheed Soz, is heading the Women’s Development Corporation (WDC), from a decade with its employees and borrowers wondering why the government is not implementing its transfer policy for her.
Sources in the government told news agency Kashmir Dot Com that Naheed Soz was appointed in the year 1986 as Junior Research Officer in the Institute of Management and Public Administration (IMPA), Srinagar, vide an order bearing No. 127/IMPA/86 dated 17th of December, 1986. In only a year dated 13th of June, 1987, she was appointed as Lecturer/Research Officer with effect from the date of her initial appointment in the IMPA and later promoted as Assistant Professor in IMPA.
However, on 30th October, 1998, by an order of the General Administration Department (GAD), Govt. of J&K, bearing No. 1437-GAD of 1998, she was transferred and posted as Development Officer, in J&K Women Development Corporation on her father’s influence and she was later promoted as its General Manager and then to become its Managing Director in 2006.
Officials said that the government seems to have forgotten to implement the transfer policy for her due to her political patronage.
A senior official posted at Civil Secretariat told KDC that as per the government transfer policy any official heading any department or corporation is transferred after two years to run the departments smoothly.
“Here the transfer policy is being violated and ignored by the government itself only because she is the daughter of a Congress leader,” the official said.
Several employees and borrowers complained that due to the longest stay as MD, Naheed Soz considers the corporation as her “fiefdom” and runs it as per her will.
They demanded her immediate transfer from the corporation for its smooth functioning.
When contacted by KDC, Naheed said she was “born in the Corporation and because of it she cannot be transferred to other departments.”
“Transferring an official is the prerogative of the government,” she said.
Sources close to Lt. Governor Manoj Sinha told news agency Kashmir Dot Com that the administration is looking into the issue and may consider posting of a new Managing Director for the corporation. (KDC)