The Jammu and Kashmir Administrative Council on Wednesday approved re-allocation of nearly 2,000 posts for Kashmiri Pandits who want to settle in the Valley, PTI reported. This was done under the prime minister’s package for the community
“The administrative council, which met under the chairmanship of Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha today, approved the re-allocation of 1,997 number of unfilled supernumerary posts for recruitment of registered Kashmiri migrants and non-migrant Kashmiri Pandits, who are willing to serve and settle down in Kashmir under the prime minister’s package,” a government spokesperson said.
The recruitment will be conducted only on the basis of written or skill tests for suitable candidates through the Jammu and Kashmir Services Selection Board within six months of referral of posts. “The re-allocated posts include posts of sub inspector commercial taxes and assistant compiler in Finance Department (997), field assistant, field supervisor and assistant store keeper in Agriculture, Production and Farmers Welfare department (150), depot assistant in Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Department (300), and Class IV in Revenue Department (550),” the spokesperson said.
This re-allocation is part of the 3,000 posts announced in 2015. So far, only 806 applicants have been selected and 1,997 positions remain vacant. The move is aimed at speeding up recruitment process under the prime minister’s package and to provide employment benefits to Kashmiri migrants and the non-migrant Kashmiri Pandit community.
Earlier this week, the Valley’s largest group of the community, the Kashmir Pandit Sangharsh Samiti, had claimed that it was being harassed and their concerns were not being addressed by the local administration, ThePrint reported on Tuesday. The group’s chief Sanjay Tickoo had decided to begin a fast-unto-death until their demands were met.
The association’s main demands included 500 government jobs, which it said were promised to the community during a High Court ruling in 2016.
