Promotion within Service

(1) Subject to the provisions of sub-sections (2) and (3) members of the Service of the respective cadre shall be eligible for promotion to any of the posts within their respective cadres: Provided that a member of the Service in Group B who does not possess one of the degrees of a University or other qualifications as specified in section 6, shall not be eligible for promotion to the post of Executive Engineer till he has acquired the requisite qualifications. Explanation.—Once an officer has been appointed as member of the Service, his promotion within the Service from one rank to another shall be regarded as promotion within the same cadre. (2) Promotion shall be made by selection on the basis of seniority-cum-merit and suitability in all respects and a member of the Service shall not have any claim to such promotion as a matter of right or mere seniority. (3) A member of the Service shall not be eligible for promotion to the rank of – (a) Executive Engineer, unless he has rendered five years service as an Assistant Executive Engineer and has passed departmental examination as provided in section 15: Provided that an officer who has rendered six years or more service as an Assistant Executive Engineer shall, unless he is considered unsuitable for promotion, be given preference for such promotion over an eligible Group B officer; (b) Superintending Engineer, unless he has rendered seven years service as an Executive Engineer; (c) Chief Engineer, unless he has rendered three years service as Superintending Engineer; (d) Engineer-in-Chief, unless he has rendered two years service as Chief Engineer: Provided that if, it appears to be necessary to promote an officer who has successfully completed his probation, in public interest, the Government may, for reasons to be recorded in writing, either generally for a specified period or in any individual case, reduce the period specified in clauses (a), (b), (c) or (d) to such an extent, as it may deem proper.