J&K withdraws erstwhile State’s posts referred to recruiting agencies

The move is likely to turn hundreds of candidates as ineligible

The J&K Lieutenant Governor’s administration on Friday withdrew all the posts referred to Union Territory’s top recruiting agencies prior to abrogation of its special constitutional position in 2019.

The move is likely to turn hundreds of candidates as ineligible and could further delay departmental recruitment for over a year, according to experts. “All posts referred to the Public Service Commission (PSC) and the Services Selection Board (SSB) before October 31, 2019, for which selections have not been finalized till date, as also the posts in which there are litigations and the cases are pending in Honourable court shall be deemed to have been withdrawn with immediate effect,” reads an order of J&K’s General Administration Department (GAD).

The order issued by the GAD has mentioned no specific reason or rationale behind the move. It was in August 2019 that the Centre ended J&K’s special constitutional position and diluted most of the provisions of Article 370. J&K was also split into two Union Territories of J&K and Ladakh.“It’s rare that posts are withdrawn in such a manner. In case there are duplications of posts (while referring to the recruiting agencies), such a measure could be initiated. However, withdrawing all posts after over three years lacks any rationale on the face of it,” former PSC chairmanLatief-u-Zaman Deva toldThe Hindu.