Srinagar, September 21: The Jammu and Kashmir Government has said that the regularisation of casual, seasonal, daily-rated, contractual, need-based and other temporary workers remains under examination, with no final policy decision taken so far.
The Government stated this in a written reply to a starred question raised by MLA Irfan Hafiz Lone in the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly.
According to the reply, a committee headed by the Chief Secretary was constituted through Government Order No. 384-JK(GAD) of 2025 dated March 19, 2025, to examine the issues concerning temporary and contractual workers engaged across different departments.
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The committee includes senior officers from the Finance, General Administration, Planning and Law Departments.
“The issue is under comprehensive examination from humanitarian, legal and financial perspectives,” the Government said, adding that the panel is also considering the different terms and conditions of engagement, statutory provisions, recruitment rules and financial implications involved in any proposed policy.
The Government said any eventual policy would have to conform to the existing legal framework, statutory provisions and prescribed recruitment rules.
It said the committee is working towards a uniform framework that is legally enforceable and administratively implementable across departments.
“Consultations with concerned departments and examination of the matter from administrative, legal and financial perspectives are still required before a final decision is taken,” the reply said.
The Assembly response does not indicate that the committee has submitted its final report or recommendations to the Government so far. The committee was originally mandated to submit its report within six months.
On the payment of wages to temporary workers, the Government said various departments had engaged Daily Rated Workers (DRWs) and Casual/Seasonal Labourers (CSLWs) according to their operational requirements.
It said wages were being paid according to the applicable guidelines and terms and conditions governing their engagement. In the case of DRWs and CSLWs, the Government said payments were being made in accordance with the minimum wages notified by the Government.
Meanwhile, the Government has disclosed that 38,872 posts are vacant across various departments of Jammu and Kashmir. These include 3,318 Gazetted, 24,427 Non-Gazetted and 11,127 Multi-Tasking Staff (MTS) posts.
The highest number of vacancies is in the Health and Medical Education sector, with 12,797 posts vacant, including 2,125 Gazetted, 8,064 Non-Gazetted and 2,608 MTS positions.
Other departments with substantial vacancies include Agriculture Production/Animal and Sheep Husbandry/Horticulture, School Education, Public Works, Power Development, Finance and Industries and Commerce.
Separately, the Government said 2,150 posts are vacant under the Direct Recruitment Quota, including 794 in Health and Medical Education, 594 in School Education, 286 in Higher Education, 183 in Animal/Sheep Husbandry, 170 in the General Administration Department and 67 in Home.
The Government said vacancies are being referred to the concerned recruiting agencies and steps have been taken to make the selection process more time-bound.
According to the annexures, 11,582 posts were referred to the Jammu and Kashmir Services Selection Board (JKSSB) during 2024, while another 6,340 posts were referred in 2025, taking the combined figure to 17,922.
The Government said it has also introduced measures including advance recruitment planning, monitoring of recruitment timelines, streamlining of procedures and greater coordination with recruiting agencies to ensure vacancies are filled in a time-bound manner.
The Government further said departments have been directed to refer posts falling under the direct recruitment quota to the concerned recruiting agencies in accordance with the applicable recruitment rules and instructions.
The recruitment process, it said, would continue to follow the principles of transparency, fairness and merit.
The latest Assembly reply leaves the regularisation issue pending before the Chief Secretary-led committee, while recruitment against sanctioned vacancies continues through the designated recruiting agencies. The Government said a final decision on the regularisation of different categories of temporary workers would be taken after the committee completes its examination and the requisite inputs are received.
