Process on to fill 8,000 vacancies: JKSSB

Jammu, December 18

More than 15,000 vacancies in various government departments have been filled in three years while the selection process for 8,000 more is in progress, Jammu and Kashmir Services Selection Board (JKSSB) chairman Rajesh Sharma has said.

He said litigation by aggrieved candidates was one of the major factors behind the delay in the recruitment process. “Against last year’s figure of 9,300, this year the JKSSB has filled 4,500 posts in various government departments and 3,400 among them are Class IV posts. A total of 1,500 posts were filled up in 2020,” Sharma said.

He said the candidates selected for the Class IV posts under phase two were given appointment letters at special ‘Rozgar melas’ presided over by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha in Srinagar and Chief Secretary Arun K Mehta in Jammu recently.

Under the first phase, more than 5,000 candidates were given appointment letters last year after the government mandated the JKSSB to make recommendations for Class IV recruitments.

The SSB chairman said a list of 1,600 junior assistants was ready with the board but withheld due to a litigation pending in the tribunal. “Once the judgment is delivered, the result will be declared.” Sharma, who took over as the JKSSB chairman in May and oversaw its overhauling following a scam, said almost 8,000 more posts in different departments were available for recruitment.

In July, the administration headed by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha had cancelled exams for recruitment of police sub-inspectors, junior engineers and finance account assistants following allegations of paper leak and malpractices. The CBI, which is investigating the sub-inspector recruitment scam, filed a chargesheet on November 12 against 24 arrested persons, including a BSF commandant. Several protests have been held in the past against the “irregularities”. Seeking support of the job aspirants, the official said anyone having any complaint should directly approach the JKSSB to seek clarification or raise concerns. “We want students to come forward whenever they get any credible information about any type of malpractice,” he added. — PTI

Why delay?

• JKSSB chairman Rajesh Sharma says litigation by aggrieved candidates has been one of the major factors behind the delay in the recruitment process.
• A list of 1,600 junior assistants is ready but withheld due to a pending litigation. Once the judgment is delivered, the result will be out, he says.