It is to be believed as it had been the practice to engage several young people with preference to the “known” ones or the highly recommended ones to engage them in various schemes in Government Departments in the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir. Such appointment or engaging them used to be purely and solely on the recommendations of the politicians and Ministers . While such engagements should have principally been done in a transparent way through duly designated agencies , instead they were “adjusted” in various schemes like Rehbar-e- Ziraat or Agriculture Production Department , Rehbar-e- Janglaat or a scheme administered by Forest Department and Rehbar-e-Khel or the scheme set up by Youth Services and Sports Department . However, it is not only presumed but it is a fact that there were no sanctioned posts in these departments where these young people were engaged. However, since they have put in many years of service in these departments , their claim for getting confirmed as regular basis employees has not only been voiced by them being their legitimate right unless otherwise enumerated at the time of appointment , but in order to effectively highlight the issue, they have made several representations to the Government. Presumably, to resolve the issue and to find a way through, a Committee of a few top bureaucrats was appointed by the Government one and a half years back to examine the issue and give its findings/recommendations.
What we feel is that any Committee constituted for examining an issue of importance and to suggest solution must be told to do it within a fixed timeframe but in the instant case, it was not done which perhaps is responsible for giving a sense of no importance either to the constituting of a committee or to the terms of reference to be dealt with by it. Perhaps, that speaks for no developments, not even any deliberations on the terms of reference taking place all through this period . The reasons for such a type of disposal is either known to the members on the Committee or to the departments where these employees are working and seeking regularisation of their services. Finally , the said committee suggested that a sub-committee be set up to examine the issue. Such a response to the assigned task seems not only unbecoming of how administrative things should move fast but such stances only promote delays which should be seen, not even in the least, in the administrative set up.
The sub-committee appointed by the Government to examine the issue with the same terms of reference has, perhaps, been given the liberty to take as much time as possible because within how many days , the sub-committee is required to submit its recommendations is not known. The “main” committee took one and a half year’s time only to suggest that a sub-Committee could attend to the job, not knowing after how many months, the sub-committee submits its recommendations or does not do at all . All these half-baked ways of resolving sensitive issues of personnel matters and that too involving a large number of employees can understandably be to buying time and to keeping things pending perhaps due to unspecified constraints of the administration. Not only the concerned employees by whichever manner having succeeded in getting engaged with the concerned departments, nurse the feelings of being dodged and ignored but their performance and output in their respective departments too would be affected and only expected to be not up to the mark.
We have, very often, been urging the Government for and stressing upon formulating a comprehensive personnel policy for its employees covering all aspects right from appointment to attaining superannuation, probationary period, confirming an employee, transfers , promotions, disciplinary guidelines and procedures etc so that within its ambit , policies could be formulated and decisions taken. Moreover, appointments on daily wages basis, temporary basis etc must be made only in rare and unavoidable circumstances , not as a routine or an escape route to rules and regulations . The issue of “regularisation” of temporary or daily wage employees in Jammu and Kashmir even after serving for 10 to 15 years or more is a major problem seeking resolution which should be addressed including in respect of the ones under reference, without any further delay.
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