7 ZPEOs headless, clerical staff, zonal offices left at mercy of poor NYCs
By: Ahmad Shabir
Anantnag: Of total 12 Physical Education Zones, atleast seven Zonal Physical Education Offices (ZPEOs) of Youth Sports and Services department in South Kashmir’s Anantnag district are presently headless, thus affecting the administrative affairs and sports activities in the zones.
Many of these sports zones even don’t have clerical staff available, leaving them almost defunct.
Anantnag district has a total of 12 physical education zones. Out of them only five zones including Anantnag, Mattan, Qazigund, Dooru and Vailoo have ZPEOs while rest of the seven zones are without heads for years together.
These headless zones include Shangas, Srigufwara, Achabal, Verinag, Bidder, Aishmuqam and Bijbehara.
In the absence of zonal officers, the administrative affairs and sports activities being organised by the department, sources said are badly hit.
Though the District Youth Services and Sports officer Anantnag has assigned additional charges to the ZPEOs available with him but officials say it is not possible for them to run the four to five zones at a time.
“How can a person manage the affairs of four zones at a time? This is not humanly possible,” said an official in the department.
The ZPEOs were created in 2008 to ensure that the department carries out the activities for the promotion of sports in a smooth manner.
However, a source said that since the creation of these zones no measures have been taken to make them function properly.
Most of the zones in district Anantnag, ironically don’t have even clerical staff for processing of official documents.
“Out of 12 zones, only three have Junior Assistants while rest of the zones is virtually defunct. Though at some zonal offices authorities have deputed a physical education teacher to run the administrative affairs, the others have been left at the mercy of poor NYCs who attend to duties in shifts.”
The shortage of manpower at these zonal offices, sources said, is forcing the physical education teachers or ReKs to themselves submit the documents at the district youth services and sports office putting them at severe inconvenience.
“It is cruel joke that you handover the zonal office of the major department to an NYC who has no knowledge about computer. These poor NYCs are paid a meager amount of Rs 2500 a month and expecting them to run the affairs of the zonal office is highly ironical,” said an official of the department.
Precious Kashmir spoke to District Youth Services and Sports Officer (DYSSO), Anantnag, Mushtaq Ahmad, who expressed helplessness in making these zonal offices function smoothly.
“I have only five zonal officers available in the district against twelve zones. Now, I have assigned them additional charges to run other headless zones. We are running short of manpower. Even clerks are available at few zones only. It is upto the top authorities to fill the vacant posts of zonal officers and provide clerical staff and other man power for the smooth functioning of these zonal offices. I am helpless,” DYSSO told Precious Kashmir.
Director, YSS, Gazanfar Ali admitted that the functioning of the ZPEOs has been hit in the absence of officers.
“We are on the job of filling all these posts. In a couple of weeks, we are going to clear the promotion cases of atleast 87 physical education masters who will be posted as Zonal Physical Education Officers in all these headless zones. Their vigilance clearance was pending,” Director said.
Asked about clerical and other staff, who actually run the affairs of the offices, director said these offices don’t have sanctioned clerical posts.
“We are planning to depute permanent physical education teachers who know the office work to these offices who will be assisted by NYCs. But that will be done after the posting of ZPEOs,” Director said.
