Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir government on Sunday rejected the People’s Democratic Party’s allegations of large-scale backdoor appointments through outsourcing, asserting that all recruitments are being carried out through transparent procedures and in accordance with established rules.
“We did not start this outsourcing process. We got it in legacy, just like they (PDP) left us to face the fallout of Article 370 abrogation and division of the erstwhile state,” Nasir Aslam Wani, advisor to the chief minister, told reporters here.
Wani, accompanied by ministers Sakina Ittoo and Javed Dar, addressed a press conference to counter the allegations of back-door appointments levelled by opposition PDP president Mehbooba Mufti against the NC dispensation.
Wani also challenged the opposition parties to provide evidence of a single backdoor appointment made by the government.
Wani said there was an attempt to create confusion with regard to the government’s recruitment policy.
“We are duty-bound to clear the misunderstandings as it is our responsibility to make sure that the facts are placed before the public,” he said.
Wani said the outsourcing framework in Jammu and Kashmir was created from 2015 to 2018, when the PDP-BJP coalition government was in power.
“The appointments, which are now being questioned, were initiated before the 2024 assembly elections. The same process has just continued,” he said.
The advisor said the NC government has initiated the process to fill 40,000 vacancies through a transparent and merit-based process.
“It is expected to be completed soon,” he added.
“There are no more paper leaks, cancelled selection lists or any other irregularities. These things have now been consigned to history,” he said.
Ittoo said the outsourced personnel were not replacing the full-time posts in the government departments.
“These are short-term arrangements as outsourced workers are in addition to the sanctioned strength of employees in any department,” she said.
Wani alleged that several backdoor appointments had taken place during the PDP’s tenure and claimed the government possessed evidence of such recruitments. He also blamed the PDP for developments that led to the loss of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status and statehood.
Cabinet Minister Sakina Itoo said outsourced engagements were temporary arrangements meant to address additional workload and should not be treated as permanent government employment.
She said outsourcing in departments was introduced between 2014 and 2018 and that the practice of engaging manpower through agencies began in 2016, before the present government assumed office.
“The figure of 25,000 alleged backdoor appointments being circulated is completely baseless. All regular recruitments are made through the prescribed procedure, while outsourcing is only a temporary arrangement under an existing government framework,” Itoo said.
She added that security personnel and sentry workers engaged in hospitals were deployed to meet operational requirements and reiterated that outsourcing was not equivalent to regular recruitment.
Itoo also accused the PDP of misleading people over the issue and alleged that irregular appointments, including in J&K Bank, had taken place during its tenure.
Minister Javed Ahmad Dar also dismissed the PDP’s allegations, saying outsourcing was a Central government-backed framework and not a policy introduced by the present administration.
He said all outsourcing engagements were being carried out through a transparent process and accused the PDP of attempting to mislead the public on the issue.
