Srinagar, June 28: The Omar Abdullah government on Sunday rejected the Peoples Democratic Party's (PDP) allegation of making 25,000 backdoor appointments and blamed the opposition party for introducing the “outsourcing scheme” during its previous tenure.
Addressing a press conference alongside ministers Sakina Itoo and Javed Ahmad Dar, Advisor to the Chief Minister Nasir Aslam Wani said the government was compelled to respond as "misconceptions" were being spread over the employment policy.
Wani said recruitment in government departments was being carried out through a transparent, merit-based process by recruitment agencies, unlike the past when allegations of paper leaks and irregularities surfaced. He said the government had initiated a mission to fill around 40,000 vacancies through a fair and transparent process.
Responding to the PDP's charge of backdoor appointments, Wani maintained that the government had not made a single illegal recruitment.
“There has not been a single backdoor appointment by this government. If anyone has proof, we challenge them to bring it before the public," he said.
He distinguished between regular recruitment and outsourcing, saying the latter was only a temporary arrangement to meet urgent manpower requirements beyond the sanctioned strength of departments.
The advisor further claimed that the outsourcing system was introduced during the PDP-BJP government between 2015 and 2018 after the earlier practice of seasonal appointments was discontinued. The present government, he said, had merely inherited and continued the existing policy.
Wani also alleged that several backdoor appointments had taken place during previous regimes, claiming that such cases had been subjected to judicial scrutiny. He said the NC government remained committed to transparency and merit-based governance and would continue to ensure all regular appointments were made strictly through due process.
J&K Education Minister Sakina Itoo said outsourcing was meant only to meet additional workload in government departments and did not provide permanent government employment.
"Outsourcing is not a permanent government job. It is only a temporary administrative arrangement to meet additional workload in departments," she said.
She said the Omar Abdullah-led government had committed to providing employment to one lakh youth and was filling regular vacancies through the Jammu and Kashmir Services Selection Board (JKSSB) and the Jammu and Kashmir Public Service Commission (JKPSC). She said hundreds of lecturer, paramedical and doctor posts had already been referred to recruitment agencies, with several appointments completed and others under verification.
Itoo maintained that outsourced employees were engaged for specific projects or essential services such as sanitation, security, drivers and technical staff and were not entitled to pension, grade pay or other benefits available to permanent government employees. She alleged that the outsourcing framework was introduced between 2015 and 2018 during the PDP government through policy changes and SRO-520, replacing the earlier system of seasonal and casual engagements.
Minister Javed Ahmad Dar said outsourcing was a nationwide practice under centrally sponsored schemes and was being implemented in Jammu and Kashmir in accordance with Government of India guidelines. He said outsourced manpower was engaged only for scheme-based or project-specific work and not against sanctioned government posts.
He said all such engagements were made through transparent procurement and tendering processes.
He rejected allegations that the present government had made backdoor appointments, maintaining that the NC government had merely continued an existing administrative mechanism while simultaneously referring regular vacancies to recruitment agencies for transparent recruitment.