An immediate offshoot of any change , reform, amendment and reshaping is the equations of many hues getting slightly disturbed for some short period and if faced with determination and proper planning, things would gradually again return to normal desired position. However, prudence and quality management demand that arrangements needed to be made in advance to meet emerging problems and to successfully steer through them rather than pressing panic buttons later. Ladakh, which used to be the third region of erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir was separated from it and made a new Union Territory last year. Agreed, that an exercise to seek option to serve in the new UT was made from some cadres of employees whether they would like to serve in Ladakh and likewise, those serving there already belonging to both Kashmir and Jammu regions for returning to their places of domicile. Perhaps, a proper assessment of requirement of manpower at a place like Ladakh considered to be a difficult for non-natives was not made and mass transfers from that place back to Jammu and Kashmir were made, of course on option basis. Now, a crisis in the shape of how to cope up with the manpower shortage has emerged in Ladakh.
No doubt, a few officers especially of IPS and IAS cadre originally belonging to the UT of Jammu and Kashmir are posted in Ladakh but the situation is far from any satisfactory and gone out of hands to an extent to seek direct intervention of the Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Chief Executive Councillors cum Chairpersons of Leh and Kargil Hill Autonomous Development Councils have expressed concern over shortage of manpower and are in contact with the Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh as well as with the Union Ministry of Home Affairs.
Can outsourcing, at the outset be the immediate solution? We are given to understand that running various departments has become extremely difficult resulting in inconvenience to the public. Besides, various projects underway too are not getting proper attention and supervision but are simply suffering. Why were detailed projections not made and indents prepared in advance as a result of shifting of non Ladakhi manpower back to their places of origin. Since the service conduct rules of serving in any part of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh under erstwhile arrangements stand now as infructuous, posting employees from Jammu and Kashmir can only be on the basis of individual initiatives and on one’s own volition. That option should be explored to tide over the present situation.
The Jammu and Kashmir Government , however, has already helped the UT of Ladakh by deputing several of its officers to meet its shortage but the requirement being substantial ,it is expected that the Union Home Ministry must be evolving some strategy to address the problem on short term basis which could again be in the form of seeking consent from the employees from other states and UTs including from Jammu and Kashmir to serve for specified temporary period and even those who having retired or having left jobs by opting for VRS to work in Ladakh for a specified period . That could be simultaneouslyfollowed by initiating a recruitment process to answer long term needs and as a lasting solution.
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