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Officers' union unhappy over CBEC recast

Our Bureau

NEW DELHI, July 23

THE Central Excise Executive Officers' Federation has expressed dissatisfaction over the restructuring of the Central Board for Excise and Customs (CBEC), saying that it would continue to block promotional avenues for both inspectors as well as superinte ndents.

The federation has contented that the level of stagnation in the two cadres may increase beyond the present 13 to 19 years as the distribution of new posts is only the senior level.

The restructuring, cleared recently by the Cabinet, would result in an enhancement in the number of customs and excise posts from 1,718 to 2,304 (adding 586 new posts). It also entails abolition of 15 per cent of posts at the inspector-level and merger o f technical staff with ministerial cadre.

``With 4,200 posts of superintendents, the promotional prospects of the 18,000-odd inspectors is bleak even after 19 years of service. Besides, with the distribution of assistant commissioners (AC) posts amongst the higher level Group A, only 2-3 per cen t of superintendents will be promoted as ACs at the fag end of their career,'' the federation has contended.

Another demand, which has not been met, is the merger of the cadre of customs and excise at Group B, C and D level. The federation has called for a one-day mass casual leave on July 25 to express its dissatisfaction over the restructuring proposal includ ing the downsizing of the cadre.