7,299 posts referred to recruitment agencies in 2025
Nishikant Khajuria
JAMMU, Mar 31: As the Legislative Assembly was informed today that more than 28,000 posts under direct quota are currently lying unfilled across various departments in the Union Territory, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said that 25,000 vacancies are targeted to be filled this year and his Government is committed to ensuring a transparent recruitment process while avoiding undue haste that could lead to legal complications.
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“The issue of recruitment has already been discussed in detail during this session. We all want the process to be transparent and time-bound. However, time-bound should not mean rushing matters and ending up in court the next day,” he said while answering a supplementary to the question raised by PDP MLA Waheed-ur-Rehman Parra.
The Chief Minister said that on several occasions, recruitment lists had been challenged in courts, leading to the entire process being stalled. Prolonged legal delays resulted in many aspirants becoming overage and missing out on job opportunities, he added.
“Our effort has been to balance things, follow procedures properly, maintain transparency, and do it as soon as possible,” the CM said, reiterating Government’s resolve to fill up at least 25,000 vacancies this year.
While raising the issue, Waheed-ur-Rehman Parra sought to grill the Government by stating that it had promised to provide one lakh jobs, but the recruitment process has been initiated only for 6000 posts.
As per the data shared in the Assembly by the General Administration Department, 28,315 vacancies are currently lying unfilled across various departments in the Union Territory, with a significant number already referred to recruitment agencies during the past year.
Since a total of 3,808 gazetted and 24,507 non-gazetted posts under direct quota, along with 6,409 gazetted and 24,451 non-gazetted posts under promotion quota, are vacant across departments, this takes the overall number of vacancies to over 59,000 posts in the Union Territory.
The Government further informed that during the last year, 959 gazetted posts were referred to the Jammu and Kashmir Public Service Commission (JKPSC), while 6,340 non-gazetted posts were referred to the Jammu and Kashmir Services Selection Board (JKSSB) for recruitment.
Health and Medical Education Department has one of the highest backlogs, with 2,497 gazetted and 8,088 non-gazetted posts under direct quota alone, besides 898 gazetted and 3,601 non-gazetted posts under promotion quota.
School Education Department also shows significant shortages, with 594 gazetted and 727 non-gazetted posts under direct quota, and a massive 2,683 gazetted and 3,598 non-gazetted posts under promotion quota.
Agriculture Production Department (including Horticulture) has 50 gazetted and 2,064 non-gazetted vacancies under direct quota and 437 gazetted and 3,699 non-gazetted posts under promotion quota.
Power Development Department has 54 gazetted and 1637 non-gazetted vacancies under direct quota, along with 148 gazetted and 1790 non-gazetted posts under promotion quota.
Finance Department has 20 gazetted and 1,565 non-gazetted posts under direct quota, and 105 gazetted and 2,013 non-gazetted vacancies under promotion quota.
Similarly, the Department of Forest, Ecology and Environment has 29 gazetted and 1234 non-gazetted vacancies under direct quota while 158 gazetted and 1557 non-gazetted posts are lying vacant under promotion quota.
The General Administration Department too has 105 gazetted and 169 non-gazetted posts vacant in direct quota while 211 gazetted and 244 non-gazetted posts are vacant in promotion quota.
Even as the all gazetted posts under direct quota are filled in Jal Shakti (PHE) Department, 1225 non-gazetted posts are vacant in direct quota besides 332 gazetted and 270 non-gazetted in promotion quota.
Other departments such as Housing & Urban Development, Industries & Commerce, Revenue, and Rural Development & Panchayati Raj also reflect substantial staff shortages.
The figures indicate persistent manpower shortages in crucial governance and service delivery sectors, particularly Health, Education, and infrastructure-related departments. The high number of vacancies under both direct and promotion quotas suggests delays not only in fresh recruitment but also in internal career progression.
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