Harsh Dev petitions PM over Job scams in J&K

New Delhi, 12-04-2023: Former Minister and NPP President Harsh Dev Singh today submitted a petition in PMO addressed to the Prime Minister Sh Narendra Modi highlighting the problem of bourgeoning unemployment in J&K and the growing anger amongst the youth against the recruitment agencies and the current regime. The memorandum read thus “reports of job scams in J&K have been hitting the headlines of various media houses for the last several years with hardly any action having been initiated against the powerful employment mafias ruling the roost. The educated unemployed youth have been persistently on the roads agitating for a fair deal and justice with none to take note of their shrill cries. A deep rooted patronised culture of corruption continues to prevail in the UT where the educated youth has become the worst casualty of the system. Pertinent to mention that even the Chief Secretary has only recently given a statement in the media that around 2.50 lac appointments have been made in J&K through back door without following the due procedures. While the statement of the Chief Secretary is laudable and reveals his sincerity to stem the rot, the vested interests continue to pose hindrances in view of involvement of some powerful people in such job rackets necessitating your kind indulgence and a high level probe into all such back door appointments which have earned the most dubious notoriety for the UT.

In the wake of infamous scams in the selection of PSIs, FAAs and JEs in the UT, J&K has been marred with employment scandals during the last few years. While the govt failed to fill up the posts in various govt deptts in a fair and transparent manner, the culture of fake, backdoor and other paid appointments grew by leaps and bounds. And whereas the recent past witnessed large scale retrenchments, of even the regularly engaged govt employees, the new UT saw the resultant vacancies being put on sale by the various recruitment bodies through blacklisted agencies.

It was the public outrage and fear of adverse consequences that had forced the govt to rescind the said list wherein crores had been swindled by a corrupt mafia. The demand of agitating youth to disengage the APTECH co. hired for making recruitments in the UT is genuine and needs to be addressed seriously.

The irregular selections of Firemen and drivers made in Fire services Deptt through dubious means was also highlighted umpteen times in the media but the helmsmen have chosen to push the matter under the carpet for reasons best known. The govt had constituted a three member committee to present the report pertaining to the selections within a month but more than four months have passed without any action.

In another Job scam of gargantuan proportions, the J&K Bank made appointments of around 3000 Banking Associates and Clerks through backdoors which too has failed to invite due attention of authorities concerned despite the issue having been highlighted by the erstwhile State Governor Sh. S P Malik.

The commission of biggest recruitment scandal had been the engagement of more than 4000 SPOs in 2017-18 through backdoor without following any procedure and the officers who made such appointments were rewarded with prized postings by the then BJP-PDP govt.

Besides hundreds of backdoor appointments were made in KVIB during the BJP-PDP govt, with a few of them reportedly rescinded, as an eyewash and a window dressing for the gullible. Several hundreds of backdoor appointments were made in Industries Deptt and its allied corporations during 2015-18 with none to take cognizance despite public outcries. The erstwhile coalition rule witnessed scams wherein hundreds of backdoor appointments in H&ME deptt were made by Chairman of Rogi Kalyan Samitis out of Hospital Development Fund in brazen circumvention of prescribed norms and regulations. Similarly, the large scale appointments made in SKUAST and other govt deptts and corporations have failed to elicit any response from the concerned agencies.

The number of daily wagers swelled to 1,10,000 in 2018 from 62,000 in 2014 as per a reply provided on the floor of Legislative Assembly thereby providing the most glaring example of misuse of authority and patronized corruption during the coalition rule. Unfortunately, the vigilante organizations too preferred to remain mute spectators in a bid to keep their political masters in good humour.

Mr Harsh Dev appealed to the Prime Minister to order Supreme Court monitored probe into all the recruitment scams during the last few years so that the justice is delivered to the youth of J&K who have been languishing on roads for long”.