900 candidates await selection list to join duties

Sumit Hakhoo

Tribune News Service

Jammu, November 12

Political interference remains a stumbling block in the implementation of the Prime Minister’s Employment Package which can pave way for the return and resettlement of displaced people from the Valley, especially 3.50 lakh Pandits.

Despite having been recruited through the process conducted by the J&K Service Selection Boardfor 1,670 posts advertised in 2017, 900 youth are waiting for the release of the final selection list due to the mess created by the previous PDP-BJP government.

For the remaining posts in different departments, the selection process was stopped by the previous government after the issuance of controversial sadr-e-riyasat order (SRO) No. 425.

“Our recruitment was not made under SRO-425 but SRO-412 which is specific for migrant families who left Kashmir in 1989-90 due to threats from militants. Our document verification was completed in June but the final list was delayed,” said Rahul Kher, a candidate.

The SRO-412, issued in 2008 by then PM Manmohan Singh, announced a Rs 1,610-crore package for resettlement of 3.50 lakh Pandits and thousands of Muslim and Sikhs who were forced to leave by militants.

One of the components included 6,000 jobs in various departmentsfor which recruitment was to be made in two phases. Nearly 3,000 selections were made in 2010.

For filling the remaining 3,000 posts, the previous PDP-BJP government issued SRO-425 in 2017, reserving 500 jobs for non-migrant Pandits. However, this was challenged by the Sikhs in the J&K High Court, alleging that the government was biased towards them as they had alsosuffered. Consequently the HC stayed the SRO-425. However, the previous government stayed the recruitment under SRO-412 also.

On Monday, candidates under the banner of PM Package Candidates SRO-412 Association held a protest outside Raj Bhawan and sought intervention of Governor SP Malik.

However, those who appeared in the recruitment process included non-migrants candidates. They too are suffering as government has not released the selection list.

Senior JKSSB officials could not be contacted despite repeated attempts.