Suhail Bhat
Srinagar, Jan 17: Over 200 selected candidates have been left in the lurch as a result of an undue delay in the issuance of appointment orders despite the passing of over six months since their recruitment process was concluded.
There are 120 financial compilers, 71 junior-scale stenographers in the General Administration Department, and seven junior-scale stenographers in the Department of Information and Public Relations among the positions.
The candidates applied for the post through the Jammu and Kashmir Service Selection Board before the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019, and the selection procedure was completed after the abrogation, but an excessive wait in the appointment order has left the candidates despondent.
“We had been appointed with the proper procedure. We had appeared in competitive exams and are suffering immensely as most of us have crossed the age limit and some are on the verge,” a candidate said.
The candidates said they are perplexed as to why the Government is delaying the process when the pre-and post-abrogation selection processes are identical. “There is something fishy about the whole issue,” he said, adding that the government is working against its own order by delaying the appointment orders.
According to the Jammu and Kashmir reorganization, the Law Department has issued an opinion under order number LD (OPN) 2020/123-GAD, dated August 23, 2020, stating that the J&K Civil Services Decentralization and Recruitment Act 2010 shall remain in effect in the UT of Jammu and Kashmir and that the recent constitutional changes shall have no bearing on the current selection or recruitment process.
“It is hereby ordered that the recruitment agencies/appointing authorities take the following action in respect of vacancies already refereed/adv under JK special recruitment rules 2015 (where the selection has been completed but the appointing authority has not issued the final appointment order,” Administrative Council Decision Number 78/12/2020, dated June 15, 2020, states.
The order further states appointing authority must also follow the JK probationary/condition of service (pay and allowances) and tenure fixation rules 2020, which were released by the government of Jammu and Kashmir on June 19, 2020.
The candidates said that more than 500 positions, including Assistant Professor English in Higher Education Departments, Assistant Professor Music, Assistant Storekeeper (FCS&CA), Junior Scale Stenographer in the Law and Parliamentary Affairs Department, Junior Assistant in Youth Services, and Sports, and Junior Scale Stenographer in Industry and Commerce, and Inspector pots in the Department of Finance, were filled despite the fact that they had the same status. “When all these posts were filled, why are our appointment order delayed?” asked the candidates.
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