KAS selection: 70% fair, 30% unfair

Members, Secretary managed to take away their share

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR: May 4: It is for the Government of Jammu & Kashmir and the Jammu & Kashmir Public Service Commission (PSC) to explain why an officer of the rank of Additional Secretary was not appointed to replace Ghulam Hassan Mir as Controller and what was the compulsion in not only retaining Mohammad Ashraf Bukhari as Secretary of PSC but also assigning to him an additional charge last year. Even after Bukhari’s disobedience to accept his posting as DC of Kupwara, as ordered by Omar Abdullah’s Cabinet in May 2010, he continued to retain the dual charge of Controller. PSC also needs to explain why it did not use the option of recording the personality tests of different selections on camera in a state of alienation where credibility of the government institutions stands arguably at the lowest in the country.

Almost all the 392 candidates, who were selected and appointed for Combined Administrative Services last month, understandably insist that the selection was “fair”. Thousands of those who failed to make it to the prestigious services swear that it was “unfair”. An objective analysis by Early Times, however, finds the truth somewhere in between: 70 percent fair and 30 percent unfair.

Selected candidates refer to failure of the children of some high profile men in politics, bureaucracy and judiciary---including the daughter of a judge of J&K High Court---to establish the fairness of the selection process. “It’s true of everywhere: failed candidates always blame the selectors and the system with one or the other allegation”, said a candidate who is now taking training in public administration at IMPA, Srinagar.

Those, who failed, or were allegedly dropped, have a story in contrast. According to them, corruption, nepotism and favouritism was evident in more than 150 cases. Fact that everybody learned about the marks obtained in Mains is their supportive evidence. “I did the best but was dropped. I refused to pay money as I was one among the toppers in the Mains. However, one of my relatives did the needful and managed to change his service from inferior to a superior one before the final list came out”, said one Sajjad Ahmed.

If another ‘dropped’ candidate is to be believed, Secretary of PSC, Ashraf Bukhari, managed to select a number of his relatives and children of close acquaintances. Asked for a specific example, the candidate asserted that Bukhari’s close relative, Syed Sajjad Hussain Shah (Roll No: 1702189) S/o Syed Ghulam Nabi Shah [address given: c/o CTO office of Additional Commissioner Commercial Taxes Kashmir] secured just 946 marks out of 1950 in the Mains. He required 105 out of 250 in the viva for inclusion among the candidates selected from RBA category, whose cut off stood at 1051. Sajjad Shah, who figured at No: 279 in the Mains merit list, was granted 140---almost at par with the topper of all categories, Chewang Gyaltson, who got a lofty 1218 in the Mains and just 145 in the viva.

Gyaltson is among nine brilliant candidates who have been simultaneously selected by UPSC for more prestigious All India services. He is joining Indian Forest Service but hopeful to also make it to the most prestigious IAS---like another son of the soil, Dr Shahid Iqbal.

PSC Member Javed Makhdoomi’s daughter, Shadab Makhdoomi, has already become cynosure of many in bureaucracy, and now also in media, for her miracle of topping in the viva with 205 marks. Much like Sajjad Shah’s 946, she had got a poor 952 in the Mains. She now happens to be at No:5 among the candidates selected for J&K State Accounts Service. Similarly, Tehleela Asmat of Baramulla (Roo No: 0700072), who stood at extreme tail-end of the Mains merit list with just 941 marks (rank 173), was awarded 200. With total of 1141 marks, she now figures at 27^th position in the State Accounts Service.

Exactly like Shadab and Tehleela, Shah Umar of Sanat Nagar (Roll No: 090633), who stood at rank 162 in the Mains with a dismal 945 out of 1950, has been awarded 200 out of 250 in the viva and this selected for KPS.

According to the failed candidates, PSC Member Masood Samoon’s relative, Zahid Samoon (RBA), who got just 898 in Mains and required 106 to reach the RBA cut off, was awarded 115 in the viva. He stood at rank 347^th in the Mains and now figures at serial No: 74 among the candidates picked up for KPS. However, it could not be verified immediately from independent sources whether the selected candidate was the PSC member’s relative or simply a fellow villager in Gurez.

J&K State SSRB Chairman Bua Dutta Bhagat’s daughter, Priyadarshani Gautam (Roll No: 1800889), who got 954 in the Mains required 47 marks to reach the SC category’s cut off 1001. She is found to have given 115. She now stands at rank No: 192 in the KAS. Candidates, as also many others in the government, attribute Ms Gautam’s success to her father’s reciprocity of obliging the PSC members and officials in recruitment of non-gazetted services at SSRB.

On the other hand, a number of highly meritorious candidates have been dropped in the final selection.

A socially and economically backward,Khursheed Ahmed S/o Inayat Hussain (Roll No: 1702005) of Poonch required just 41 marks to reach the ST cut off 1006. Mercilessly, he is granted 40 and taken out of the competition.

Perhaps the most pathetic story is that of Doabgah Sopore’s Yasin Guroo (Roll No: 1101283) who got the dream score of 1063 marks and stood at rank 28^th in the Mains. He needed just 65 marks to reach the Open Merit cut off i.e. 1128 marks. He has been awarded incredibly lowest of 30 marks in the interview and taken out of the competition, allegedly to clear way for influential candidates and blue-eyed boys and girls like Shadab, Tehleela, Samoon and Priyadarshani.

Asrar Ahmed S/o Mehtab Din (Roll No: 1102270) has survived the PSC selectors’ cruelty. He was awarded the lowest of 20 marks in viva. As Asrar had got as many as 1130 and stood at No: 6 in the Mains merit list, his selection was not subservient to the sweet will of the selectors. As against the ALC category’s final cut off of 1128 marks, Asrar had got 1130 in the Mains i.e. two more than the final cut off. Notwithstanding the obvious injustice, he stands at No: 120 among the merit list of KAS candidates. Luck favoured him decisively at the Mains level like Salam-ud-din of Koteranka Rajouri (Roll No: 2002515) who got an impressive 1100 in the Mains but was granted just 40 in the interview. He, anyway, required, 28 only to reach the ST cut off.

While justifying it all, Chairman of PSC, S L Bhat, is reported to have told local news agency KNS that many of the candidates have passed with just 20 marks and many others have failed despite getting 200 in the viva. He is also reported to have said that Shabad Makhdoomi had topped in the Preliminary. The dropped candidates reverted that Preliminary was just a screening test and its marks neither declared not counted in the selection tally. They claimed that part of Chairman’s statement holds true in case of just five or six candidates and, according to them, there was a plethora of data and evidence to establish that corruption, favoutism and nepotism were the key features of the selection.

END