Not a single Forest vacancy pending with PSC

After selection of 104 Veterinary Surgeons, PSC left with lowest ever workload of 516 posts; 200 of them stayed by courts

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

JAMMU, Sep 22: With the selection of 104 veterinary assistant surgeons for Animal and Sheep Husbandry Departments this week, Jammu and Kashmir State Public Service Commission (PSC) is now left with the lowest ever workload of filling up just 516 gazetted vacancies. Selection for nearly 200 of these vacancies has been stayed by different courts.

According to a notification issued by PSC the other day, selection has been made for all the 104 vacancies of veterinary assistant surgeons that had been referred to the Commission earlier this year by Departments of Animal Husbandry and Sheep Husbandry. J&K High Court had stayed the process but PSC resumed the activity by virtue of a court order recently.

Authoritative sources in PSC revealed to Early Times that the Commission was now left with the job of selecting incumbents for just 516 vacancies. This is believed to be the lowest ever workload in the last 30 years. With about 200 of these vacancies being embroiled in litigation, PSC’s total responsibility has reduced to making selection for just 300-odd posts.

With the four members having retired in the last three years, PSC has currently four members---Javed Makhdoomi, Masood Samoon, Khizar Mohammad Wani and K B Jandial--- and a Chairman, S L Bhat. Lobbying has been underway to push in favourites among politicians and bureaucrats as over a dozen names have been in circulation of speculations since earlier this year. An eminent journalist’s brother, who has retired recently as a Head of Department, is said to be the latest addition to the long list of probables.

According to PSC sources, selection process of 120 vacancies of Higher Secondary Lecturers, referred by School Education Department in 2008, has been stayed by a court. Previously, 13 of similar vacancies had been referred to PSC in 2006. Even that selection stands frozen due to the matter being sub judice.

Department of Technical Education had referred 51 vacancies in 2012. Department of Housing & Urban Development had referred 22 vacancies of Executive Officers in 2012. Process of finalizing the rules of recruitment would follow with the notification and selection process later this year.

Department of Law had referred 15 posts of Public Law Officers in 2010. Selection process has been stayed by a court. Department of Law has also referred 36 posts of Munsiff in 2012. Written test has been conducted and the selection process is likely to be completed later this year.

Department of Horticulture has referred 10 posts in 201o but the selection process has been stayed by a court. Previously, same department had referred 2 posts to PSC in 2009.

Department of Health and Medical Education has referred 117 posts to PSC in 2008, 2009 and 2010. Selection process is currently underway.

General Administration Department (GAD) has referred 65 posts of  feeding services of Kashmir Administrative Service in 2012. PSC has conducted the Preliminary examination. Mains and viva voce processes are likely to be completed under a schedule by the end of March 2013.

With reference to Forest Minister Mian Altaf Ahmad’s recent statement, PSC sources said that not a single vacancy had been referred to the Commission by Forest Department in the last three years and no selection process in entire Forest sector was currently pending.

Sources said that after a pause of over 25 years, Forest Department had referred 40 vacancies of Assistant Conservators of Forest (ACF) and 15 vacancies of Range Officers (ROs) Grade-I to the Commission. PSC completed the process in the middle of last year.

Thus, it was for the first time in the last 27 years that 40 ACFs joined Forest Department directly in the year 2011. The last direct appointment of ACFs had been made in 1984. All those who were appointed in 1984, are now holding the ranks of Conservator of Forest (CF) or Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) or equivalent. Similarly, it was after several years that 15 directly recruited ROs Grade-I joined Forest Department in J&K in August 2011.

PSC sources said that officials of different departments in Forest sector were avoiding to refer vacancies of ACFs, ROs Grade-I, Assistant Directors (ADs) of Forest Protection Force (FPF) and equivalent for “unknown reasons” even as over 600 Forestry and Environmental graduates were unemployed and a large number of trained and qualified officers in Forest sector had either retired or were close to retirement. Over a hundred Forestry graduates have reportedly crossed the age bar of 37 years and thus denied an opportunity in Government service.

PSC sources said that Forest Department had modified rules of recruitment for selection of ROs Grade-I which could result in better prospects for Forestry graduates and postgraduates. However, it was still a “free-for-all phenomenon” in the selection of ACFs. According to existing rules, which have not been modified since decades, all graduates, with few exceptions, are still eligible for the competitive examination of ACFs.

“Government has been ignoring the overwhelming demand of modifying the rules on the pattern of ROs Grade-I. Now that hundreds of Forestry graduates and postgraduates are available, only these technically qualified men and women should be eligible to appear in the competition for recruitment of ACFs”, said a PSC official. He said that Government had also failed to make rules of recruitment for ADs and Inspectors in FPF in the last 16 years and all 60 posts of ADs were lying vacant since December 1996.

“Appointment of candidates as Rehbar-e-Janglat signifies an adhocist and non-serious mindset. They should make rules and refer all vacancies to PSC. We have literally no workload. We can complete the selection process in just two or three months”, said a Member at PSC.

According to an official press release issued on September 8^th, Forest Minister had directed officers of Forest sector to refer all vacancies to PSC and Service Selection Board immediately for filling up these posts on fast-track basis. According to the Minister, it was “a part of Government’s endeavour to further strengthen the functioning of Forest Department and its allied wings”.

Contrary to the status available in PSC, Forest officials had apprised the Minister that there were 1624 gazetted and non-gazetted vacancies out of which 1320 vacancies “have already been referred to PSC/SSRB, whereas rest will be referred at the earliest”

“The Minister directed the heads of J&K Pollution Control Board and J&K Forest Protection Force to accomplish the process of recruitment rules to ensure transparency in their organizations in a time bound manner. He asked the officers to fix the responsibility for delaying in framing the rules, adding that no organization can accomplish its legitimate task without proper rules and regulations, therefore the process of framing the rules should be finished immediately”, the official press release on September 8^th said.

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