The revelation in the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly that as many as 2,960 gazetted and 14,993 non-gazetted posts are lying vacant across 32 Government departments has once again exposed the deep administrative paralysis gripping the Union Territory. These aren’t mere numbers; they represent the missing hands that could have strengthened the delivery of essential public services, improved governance, and employed thousands of educated yet jobless youth. Instead, what we are witnessing is a prolonged bureaucratic and procedural inertia that has allowed vacancies to pile up year after year, crippling the very functioning of Government departments.
The Health and Medical Education Department stands out as the worst casualty, with an alarming 7,285 vacant positions-including 1,985 gazetted and 5,300 non-gazetted posts. In a region that has been striving to upgrade its healthcare infrastructure post-pandemic, this level of staff shortage is nothing short of catastrophic. Hospitals across J&K are running on borrowed manpower, many of them dependent on staff deputed from other institutions. The newly built emergency block at GMC Jammu, for instance, largely relies on ad hoc nursing staff, while facilities like Gandhi Nagar Hospital are struggling with similar ad hoc arrangements. The case of Bone and Joint Hospital, Jammu, reportedly operating with staff on loan from GMC Jammu, is symbolic of how precarious the healthcare system has become. In medical parlance, the “patient” – the public health system – is in a critical condition. Infrastructure without human resources cannot heal, and yet successive Governments have flaunted new hospital buildings as signs of progress. In reality, these structures echo with emptiness, waiting for doctors, nurses, paramedics, and technicians who never arrived.
But the crisis is not confined to the health sector alone. The Finance Department, with over 1,500 vacant posts, is struggling to manage key fiscal responsibilities-from clearing pending bills and managing budgets to ensuring timely revenue generation. A department meant to drive economic planning cannot perform optimally when starved of staff. The Power Development Department and Jal Shakti Department, both classified as essential services, are operating under severe manpower constraints. With over 1,497 and 987 vacancies, respectively, these departments are somehow managing to keep lights on and taps running, but at what cost? Overworked linemen, engineers, and field workers are stretched beyond their limits, and every summer or winter crisis exposes the fragility of these services.
Adding to the irony, some departments haven’t conducted a fresh audit of staff requirements in decades. Existing projections are based on outdated assessments that fail to reflect today’s population, workload, and administrative complexity. With only 465 posts referred to the JKPSC and 3,795 to the JKSSB over the past year, it illustrates the painfully slow pace of action. Referring posts to recruitment agencies is just the first step; what follows is an equally lengthy process – advertisement, applications, examinations, result declarations, verifications, and finally, appointments. Over the years, numerous recruitment exams have been cancelled due to procedural lapses, paper leaks, and litigation, deepening the frustration of thousands of aspirants.
This administrative inaction has two devastating effects. First, Government departments continue to function with staff shortages, compromising efficiency, accountability, and service delivery. Second, a generation of educated youth is languishing without jobs. The absence of a vibrant industrial sector in J&K compounds the problem, leaving Government employment as one of the few viable career options.
The way forward requires urgent, multi-pronged intervention. The Government must immediately refer all pending vacancies to recruitment agencies and ensure time-bound recruitment. Equally critical is conducting a fresh, comprehensive manpower audit across all departments. Many existing posts are obsolete, while new areas require additional personnel. Recruitment should therefore be guided by contemporary needs rather than colonial-era staffing patterns. The Government must also take a pragmatic call on daily wagers, whose numbers exceed one lakh. Empty chairs in Government offices are not just symbols of inefficiency – they are barriers to progress, to healthcare, to education, and to public welfare. The Government must recognise the gravity of this crisis and act with urgency. Unless decisive action is taken now, J&K’s administrative machinery will continue to limp and its youth will be in despair.
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