Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Sept 26: Demanding direct recruitment of Technocrats in Agriculture Production Department J&K, Agriculture students organized a protest demonstration, here today.
The Agriculture student also attempted to take out a protest march but Police did not allow them to move out. The protest was organized under the banner of Jammu Kashmir Agriculture Students Association, near Press Club Jammu.
Shouting slogans, the protesters raised their voice against alleged mismanagement and arbitrary decisions in recruitment of Agriculture Technocrats. They lamented that thousands of Agriculture professionals pass out from various State Agriculture Universities every year, but surprisingly the JKAPD offers nothing to the professional thus multiplying the already large-scale unemployment in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
“The ratio between direct recruitment and promotional quota for the entry level Gazetted post of Agriculture Technocrats (AEO) was 50:50 under SRO-179, but in 2007 the Government came with a new provision under SRO- 433 in which the direct recruitment quota was reduced to 20 percent and even after the amendment, no post has been advertised by the competent authority till 2025 and posts are only being filled on promotion basis,” they explained.
They alleged that despite repeated requests to the Agriculture Minister in this regard, nothing was done by the popular Government in J&K.
Furthermore, the students said, previous Govt of Jammu & Kashmir delivered a new SRO-442 in Agriculture Production Department on 23rd of October 2017 wherein some deliberate draconian amendments were made for the recruitment of Junior Agriculture Extension Officer (JAEO). “The SRO 442 mentions that these JAEO posts will be filled 100 percent on promotional basis contrary to the earlier SRO-02 dated 2nd January 2004 wherein these posts were filled on 60:40 basis. These posts (JAEOs) used to be entry level posts in APD and the Agriculture Technocrats are suffering from psychological trauma due to this amendment in the SRO,” they said, adding that more than 500 posts of JAEO are lying vacant in JKAPD, but due to SRO-442 these posts are not being referred for direct recruitment, thereby violating their fundamental right to equal opportunities.
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