Recruitment after Rules are framed
Some staff to be sent from J&K on deputation
Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Mar 2: The Central Government is understood to have been working on three-pronged strategy to help overcome acute shortage of Government officers/officials in the Union Territory of Ladakh, which has reached alarming proportions prompting Chairpersons-cum-Chief Executive Councilors (CECs) of two Autonomous Hill Councils of Leh and Kargil to seek immediate intervention of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs.
Official sources told the Excelsior the Central Government was likely to approve major recruitment drive in the Union Territory of Ladakh covering both Leh and Kargil districts after framing rules for the selection process which are in the pipeline.
“Recruitment rules in the Union Territory of Ladakh are being framed by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs and they will be released soon. Once the rules are out, the recruitment process will start,’’ sources said, adding the Centre is keeping aspirations of the local people of Ladakh in mind while making the rules.
Apart from regular recruitment, the Government is likely to allow some departments to engage staff on contractual basis to run Emergency Departments like Health, Education etc.
In addition, sources said, the Central Government is likely to ask Jammu and Kashmir Government to depute some officers in different categories to the Union Territory of Ladakh on deputation basis.
The J&K Government had few days back deputed four KPS officers to the Union Territory of Ladakh. Already, some IAS and IPS officers especially those posted as Deputy Commissioners and SSPs of Leh and Kargil districts belonged to Jammu and Kashmir cadre.
“The Central Government could take some more steps also shortly to help the Union Territory of Ladakh to overcome shortage of the staff,’’ sources said.
As exclusively reported by the Excelsior, the Union Territory of Ladakh has been facing its first major crisis in view of huge shortage of manpower-both Government officers and officials-a result of which developmental and other works are suffering
Sources said large number of manpower was required to run all the Departments especially vital Health, Education etc as earlier Ladakh being third region of J&K was fed from the erstwhile State.
Both the Autonomous Hill Development Councils of Leh and Kargil have submitted detailed projection of staff required in different sectors including Emergency services or, otherwise, there will be a crisis like situation in running affairs of various Departments in the district.
However, according to sources, such problems were expected to crop up when Ladakh, which was mountainous and very less populated region of erstwhile State of Jammu and Kashmir, when it was made the new Union Territory.
But they expressed confidence that the issue will be addressed shortly by the Union Home Ministry headed by Amit Shah and Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh Radha Krishna Mathur.
According to sources, the top brass of Ministry of Home Affairs was in regular touch with the Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh to address the issue of extreme shortage of manpower in all the sectors in both the districts of Leh and Kargil which formed the Union Territory.
Earlier, Ladakh besides local staff was fed mainly from Jammu and Kashmir as it happened to be third region of the erstwhile State. With creation of Ladakh as new Union Territory, majority of staff of Jammu and Kashmir preferred to return. However, the Jammu and Kashmir Government has deployed several officers and officers in Ladakh Union Territory to meet with the shortage.
The Union Territory of Ladakh has very meager resources due to hilly terrain and closure of Srinagar-Leh National Highway for four to five months of winter and was largely dependent on the Central help, which the Union Ministry of Home Affairs had promised to extend during meetings with the UT representatives.
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