Fayaz Bukhari
Srinagar, Apr 12: The State Government is contemplating to delink certain departments from Kashmir Administrative Services as their feeding service to improve the efficacy of these departments by engaging professionals.
The KAS is feeding service for 15 State Government departments and in some departments where there is need of professionals in the particular field, these officers are not able to deliver with the result the working in these departments suffers.
The idea of involving the professionals in certain departments has come to the new Government after some of the departments are in a bad shape and need immediate remedial measures.
In the initial stage, they are trying to delink Departments of Information, Tourism, Hospitality and Protocol and Industries and Commerce from the KAS as their feeding cadre.
Sources said that the KAS officers posted in these departments are not able to deliver and Government thinks that only professionals who are trained in the particular fields can handle these departments on professional lines.
In the department of Information, State Government is facing acute shortage of professionals as the KAS officers posted there are not able to write the statements of various Ministries which is the job of professionals. There is heavy load of writing and editing of these statements on few professionals only.
The Government is intending to employee Mass Communication and Journalism degree and diploma holders in the department so as to increase its efficacy.
Few years back, Government had advertised 40 posts of Information Officers but the list was quashed by the Jammu and Kashmir High Court. The case is now in Supreme Court and it may be quashed there as well and the Department is suffering.
In the same manner, in Tourism department, which requires professionals in tourism, who can run the department on modern lines, the tourism professional will be involved. There are large number of graduates and post graduates in Tourism in the State and Government wants to utilize their services.
They are also trying to infuse new blood in Hospitality and Protocol Department where they are contemplating to employ professionals who have done specialization in hospitality industry from various colleges of the country. Large numbers of professionals in the State are working on meager salaries in private sector and Government intends to utilize their services.
The Industries and Commerce is another department where they want to utilize services of engineers and Masters in Business Administration to run it on modern lines. The Industries department is presently understaffed and there are lots of vacancies for professionals which need to be filled.
Education Minister, Naeem Akhtar, when contacted said that it is an idea that has been floated as some departments are in dire need of professionals. He said there is no dearth of the professionals in the State and some Government Departments need them.
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