SRINAGAR: Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo on Tuesday directed departments in Jammu and Kashmir to expedite the recruitment process and ensure early filling of thousands of vacant government posts, stressing that prolonged vacancies weaken governance and public service delivery.
Chairing a high-level review meeting on recruitments being undertaken through the Jammu and Kashmir Public Service Commission (JKPSC) and the Jammu and Kashmir Services Selection Board (JKSSB), Dulloo asked all Administrative Secretaries to hold regular follow-up meetings with departments and recruiting agencies to resolve pending issues and accelerate the process.
According to official data presented during the meeting, a total of 40,661 posts are currently vacant across various government departments in the Union Territory. These include 3,808 Gazetted posts, 24,507 Non-Gazetted posts and 12,351 Multi-Tasking Staff (MTS) posts.
Among the departments, Health and Medical Education accounts for the highest number of vacancies, with 2,497 Gazetted, 8,088 Non-Gazetted and 2,712 MTS posts. Other departments with significant vacancies include Agriculture Production, Power Development, Finance, Revenue, Forest, Public Works (R and B) and Youth Services and Sports.
The Chief Secretary emphasised that timelines fixed for ongoing recruitment drives must be strictly followed and directed that all posts received by recruiting agencies should be advertised without delay. He also asked the JKPSC and JKSSB to prepare and publish examination calendars so that aspirants have clarity about the schedule and adequate preparation time.
During the meeting, Commissioner Secretary General Administration Department (GAD) M Raju presented a detailed overview of vacancies across departments.
Reviewing the progress made by the JKSSB, its Chairperson Vikas Kundal informed the meeting that since 2019 the Board had received 46,744 posts, of which 9,260 were withdrawn, leaving 37,484 posts for recruitment. Out of these, selections for 32,956 posts have already been completed, including 27,449 selections pertaining to the current recruitment cycle.
He further said that 10,035 posts are currently at different stages of recruitment with the JKSSB. These include 2,532 posts yet to be advertised, 4,768 posts at the examination stage, 1,258 at the selection stage and 1,477 posts under live advertisements awaiting completion of the process.
Meanwhile, Secretary JKPSC Bashir Ahmad Dar informed the meeting that 1,745 Gazetted posts are presently under process with the Commission. Of these, the selection schedule has already been drawn for 1,573 posts, while 172 posts are yet to be scheduled due to procedural issues.
He said the Commission has prepared a recruitment timeline, under which 630 selections are expected to be completed by March 2026, 476 during April–May 2026, 158 during June–July 2026 and 309 during August–September 2026.
Department-wise analysis showed that the highest number of posts with JKPSC belong to Health and Medical Education (872 posts), followed by School Education (470 posts), General Administration (170 posts) and Higher Education (129 posts).
Taking note of bottlenecks affecting certain recruitments, the Chief Secretary directed the concerned departments to issue necessary clarifications and resolve procedural hurdles immediately so that the recruitment process is not delayed.
He also observed that prolonged recruitment cycles create uncertainty among job aspirants and emphasised the need for a predictable recruitment timeline to enable candidates to plan their careers better.
The meeting was attended by Administrative Secretaries of various departments, Chairperson JKSSB, Secretary JKPSC and other senior officials. It was decided that all clear vacancies without legal or procedural complications would be referred to the respective recruiting agencies at the earliest for timely recruitment.kashmir life