CAT's Jammu bench to speed up process of redressing grievances of employees: Jitendra Singh

Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Monday inaugurated the Central Administrative Tribunal's (CAT) Jammu bench and said it would speed up the process of redressing the grievances of employees. The CAT adjudicates service matters of central government employees.

Speaking after the inauguration, Singh said the setting up of the CAT's Jammu bench to deal exclusively with service matters of government employees would go a long way in not only reducing the burden of various courts but also provide speedy relief in respect of their grievances and service matters.

The inauguration of the Jammu bench, which is the 18the bench of the tribunal, was done via video conference, according to a statement issued by the Personnel Ministry.

He said the Modi government is committed to transparency and "justice for all", and the people-friendly reforms taken in the last six years have benefitted the entire country including people of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.

Singh, Minister of State for Personnel, said more than 800 central laws, which were not applicable to J-K have been made applicable since the abrogation of Article 370 and 35A on August 5, 2019 for the benefit of people of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.

Now they enjoy same rights as people from the rest of India, the statement quoting him said. The minister expressed hope that pendency of about 30,000 cases would be resolved in a time-bound and judicious manner.

Singh said all three important agencies of the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT)- CAT, Central Information Commission (CIC) and Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) are now operational in union territories of J-K and Ladakh.

Earlier, in a notification issued on May 28, the central government has specified Jammu and Srinagar as the places at which the benches of the CAT shall ordinarily sit for the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, the statement said.

"Similarly, the CIC has started hearing Right to Information (RTI) Act applications of applicants from the UTs of J-K and Ladakh from 15.05.2020," the statement said.

Singh said Sanjay Kothari, Central Vigilance Commissioner who called on him on May 5, 2020 informed that the jurisdiction of the Central Vigilance Commission has been extended over the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir under the Prevention of Corruption Act, the statement said.

Chairman of the Central Administrative Tribunal, Justice L Narasimha Reddy gave the welcome address during the inauguration. The inaugural ceremony was addressed by Chief Justice of the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir, Gita Mittal and Lieutenant Governor of Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, Girish Chandra Murmu.

Member Judicial, Central Administrative Tribunal, Jammu, Rakesh Sagar Jain gave the vote of thanks on the occasion.

(Photo Credit: PTI)