Srinagar, July 23: The share of Kashmir in government jobs is on decline compared to other two regions of the state despite Valley’s highest population, says the State Finance Commission.
“The overall picture that emerges on recruitment by Public Service Commission and State Service Recruitment Board during past two decades shows the Jammu region has excess benefits though its population share is less than that of Kashmir region,” the Commission has pointed out in its report submitted to government last November.
The 3-member panel headed by former bureaucrat Dr Mehmood-ur-Rehman was appointed to suggest measures for equitable development of all the three regions of the state and suggest measures to bring reforms in administration.
Quoting official data received from PSC and SSRB- the main government recruiting bodies in the state- the Commission report highlights that from 1997 to 2008 of the total recruitments made by SSRB, more than 59 percent were from Jammu region, 41.9 percent from Kashmir and less than 1 percent from Ladakh.
In case of recruitments by PSC from 1983 to 2006, the Commission has pointed out that 51 percent recruitments were made from Jammu region, 47 percent from Kashmir region and more than 1 percent from Ladakh.
During 2002-06 the share of recruitments made by PSC had gone up for Jammu and it had fallen in case of Kashmir. Of the total selections during the period, 53 percent selectees were from Jammu, 45 percent from Kashmir and 2.09 percent recruitments were made from Ladakh.
“The disparity is more glaring against the Kashmir region during the Xth plan and it justifies government’s pro-active policy of recruitment in favor of the Kashmir region to make good the backlog employment in the service sector,” The commission has proposed. “There is a need to have a regional consideration in the policy of the recruitment by the recruiting agencies not by law but by convention and practices,” the commission report stresses in chapter IX of volume II of the five part voluminous report.
While PSC carries out recruitment process for Gazetted services, the selection for non-Gazetted services is being carried out by the SSRB.
The latest disclosure by the quasi-government body comes at a time when people of Valley are alleging that they are being allegedly discriminated against in the government jobs.
The state has more than 4.5 lakh people as employees with the government here including contractual/adhocs appointees. The government jobs are one of the main source of income for people in the state particularly Kashmir, in absence of well developed industrial sector.
A survey carried out by the government last year has shown that the unemployment graph has already touched almost 6 lakh persons.
“Unfortunately there is no continuous monitoring on state service vacancies caused, vacancies created and filling up the posts in various cadres of the state administration and it is equally not reflected upon the schedule of establishment of state budget,” the report mentions.
Reflecting on the contractual/adhoc appointments and “backdoor entries” the report has noted with concern that this “obnoxious infection” which has grown over the past two decades, in violation of recruitment policy, has created a mess in service sector and many public sector enterprises including SRTC, J&KPCC.
“It has, as a resultant effect, mounted non-plan expenditure of state government and thus restricted the process of recruitment as per norms,” the report mentions.

Lastupdate on : Sat, 23 Jul 2011 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Sat, 23 Jul 2011 18:30:00 GMT
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