Jammu, Mar 10: More than 40,000 posts are currently lying vacant across various departments of the Jammu and Kashmir government, with the administration reviewing the progress of ongoing recruitment to expedite the filling of these positions.
The issue came up for discussion during a meeting chaired by Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo, who reviewed the status of vacancies and recruitment being conducted through the Jammu and Kashmir Public Service Commission (JKPSC) and the Jammu and Kashmir Services Selection Board (JKSSB).
The meeting was attended by administrative secretaries of various departments, the Chairperson of JKSSB, the Secretary of JKPSC and other senior officials.
During the review, the Chief Secretary stressed the need for expeditious filling of critical vacancies to strengthen governance and improve public service delivery across the Union Territory.
He directed all administrative secretaries to hold regular follow-up meetings with their departments and recruitment agencies to ensure that pending issues are resolved and vacant posts are filled at the earliest.
Dulloo also instructed that timelines fixed for ongoing recruitment drives must be strictly adhered to and directed recruiting agencies to advertise all posts referred to them without delay.
He further advised the recruitment agencies to prepare and publish examination calendars so that job aspirants have clarity regarding examination schedules and adequate time for preparation.
During the meeting, the Chief Secretary reviewed several bottlenecks affecting certain recruitment processes in JKPSC and JKSSB and directed the concerned departments to issue necessary clarifications and resolve procedural hurdles immediately.
Observing that prolonged recruitment cycles create uncertainty among job aspirants, he emphasised the importance of completing recruitment within defined timelines.
“Predictable recruitment cycles help candidates plan their careers better and reduce uncertainty among aspirants,” he said.
Commissioner Secretary, General Administration Department (GAD), M Raju, presented a detailed overview of vacancies across government departments.
According to the data, a total of 40,661 posts are currently vacant in different departments, including 3,808 Gazetted posts, 24,507 Non-Gazetted posts and 12,351 Multi-Tasking Staff (MTS) posts.
Among major departments, the Health and Medical Education Department accounts for a large share of vacancies with 2,497 Gazetted posts, 8,088 Non-Gazetted posts and 2,712 MTS posts.
Other departments with substantial vacancies include Agriculture Production, Power Development, Finance, Revenue, Forest, Public Works (R&B) and Youth Services and Sports.
Reviewing recruitment undertaken by JKSSB for Non-Gazetted and MTS posts, JKSSB Chairperson Vikas Kundal informed the meeting that since 2019 the Board has received 46,744 posts for recruitment.
Out of these, 9,260 posts were withdrawn, leaving 37,484 posts for recruitment. The Board has already completed selections for 32,956 posts, including 27,449 selections made during this period.
He said that 10,035 posts are currently under different stages of recruitment with the Board. 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 recruitment process.
Secretary JKPSC Bashir Ahmad Dar also briefed the meeting about the status of Gazetted posts referred to the Commission.
He said that 1,745 Gazetted posts are presently under process with JKPSC. Of these, selection schedules have already been prepared for 1,573 posts, while 172 posts are yet to be scheduled due to certain procedural issues.
Dar informed the meeting that a recruitment timeline has been finalised for filling these posts. As per the schedule, 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 pertains to the Health and Medical Education Department (872 posts), followed by School Education (470 posts), General Administration (170 posts) and Higher Education (129 posts).
The meeting was informed that all departments have shared the latest status of advertised posts, vacant positions and posts proposed to be referred to recruiting agencies.
It was decided that all clear vacancies without legal or procedural issues will be referred to the respective recruiting agencies at the earliest to ensure timely recruitment.
