Decks also cleared for promotions from NGOs to GOs through DPC
No Gazetted cadre jobs in UT in last about 6 years
Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, July 9: Ahead of recruitment of Gazetted Officers (GOs) for which decks have been cleared by the Union Territory administration of Ladakh following approval of reservation and domicile rules, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) today empowered Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh Brig (Retd) BD Mishra with appointment of the GOs, a power which was missing though he had powers for transfer and posting of the officers in this category.
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The Ladakh administration in a meeting chaired recently by Chief Secretary Dr Pawan Kotwal had identified 359 vacancies for recruitment in Gazetted cadre through the Union Public Services Commission (UPSC). This was for the first time in about six years since Ladakh became a UT that appointment to Gazetted Officers are being made. Earlier, such a drive couldn’t be undertaken in the absence of reservation and domicile rules.
Official sources told the Excelsior that an order by the MHA empowering the Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh with appointment of Gazetted Officers excepting the Chief Secretary and the Director General of Police (DGP) was issued today. Earlier, he had the powers for appointment of non-Gazetted officers after the selection list was finalized by the Staff Selection Commission (SSC).
“However, such a power was not vested with the Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh as far as the appointment of Gazetted Officers was concerned. Now, when the process for selection of 359 Gazetted Officers has been set in motion, the LG will be empowered to order their appointments once the selection list is issued by the UPSC,” the sources said.
Besides direct recruitments of Gazetted Officers which will be made by the UPSC, the non-Gazetted Officers are also promoted to the rank of Gazetted Officers through the Departmental Promotion Committees (DPCs) like Junior Engineer to Assistant Engineer, Masters to Lecturers etc.
In the cases where DPCs were done or were pending, the LG Ladakh will now have powers to order appointment of Gazetted Officers in different departments promoted through the DPCs, the sources said, adding the Lieutenant Governor already had the powers to order transfer and postings of the Gazetted Officers but the power for appointment of Gazetted Officers was missing as no recruitment was made for posts of the GOs since Ladakh was made a Union Territory on August 5, 2019 after being separated from erstwhile State of Jammu and Kashmir.
The Gazetted cadre appointments couldn’t be made in Ladakh in the absence of reservation and domicile rules which were finalized in a meeting of the High Powered Committee (HPC) by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on May 27 this year.
An order issued today by the MHA read: “The President directs that all appointments in all Group ‘A’ posts of Gazetted Services in the Administration of Union Territory of Ladakh shall be made by the Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh appointed under Article 239 of the Constitution. Provided that no appointment to the post of Chief Secretary, Ladakh and Director General of Police, Ladakh shall be made except with the previous approval of the Central Government”.
Of the 359 Gazetted vacancies indentified across departments, 269 have been prioritized for referral to the UPSC in the first phase. These include 125 Medical Officers, 75 Lecturers, 30 Assistant Directors, 17 Assistant Engineers (PWD), 11 Assistant Engineers (PHE), and 11 Assistant Registrars. The remaining 90 are under finalization and include technical and specialized roles.
To address delays, a one-time age relaxation of five years was also approved for recruitments in 2025-26. This is in addition to existing relaxations, with the upper age cap at 56 years.
The UT has also requested the UPSC to include Ladakh in its Single Window e-Appointment System.
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