No headway in appointment of JKPSC Chairman, members

Srinagar, Jan 22: There seems to be no headway in the appointment of new chairman and other members for the Jammu and Kashmir Public Service Commission (JKPSC) as the commission has been virtually rendered defunct for more than two months now.

The commission is currently in a state of dormancy due to the absence of a chairman and vacant positions of the members as well.

The JKPSC is responsible for carrying out recruitment processes and holding exams for all gazetted positions which remain vacant in different departments across Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.

But all the recruitment and departmental exams have been postponed since November 20, 2023.

The standstill occurred in the commission following the expiry of the tenure of the former chairman JKPSC Satish Chandra on November 19, 2023.

Chandra, appointed as chairman in June 2022, held the position until reaching the age of 62, as per the government order.

Since his departure, the JKPSC has halted all exams scheduled post-November 20, 2023.

The routine and departmental examinations initially set for December 24, 2023, to January 28, 2024, have also been postponed.

The notice for postponement of the exams was issued on December 15.

The retirement of another JKPSC member, Zubair Ahmad Raza, on January 10, further exacerbated the commission's challenges.

Raza was appointed as JKPSC member in June 2020.

Following his retirement, JKPSC is left with only one remaining member and the Secretary JKPSC.

Despite the passage of over two months, the J&K administration has not appointed a new chairman for JKPSC while the positions of members continue to remain vacant as well.

An official at the JKPSC said that the commission was not able to process the recruitments and other important exams.

“The repeated postponements of exams have elicited concerns from aspirants who feel the abrupt cancellations are costly and mentally distressing,” the JKPSC official said.

Advisor to Lieutenant Governor Rajiv Rai Bhatnagar said, “I won’t be able to comment on it.”

Talking to Greater Kashmir, Secretary JKPSC, Bashir Ahmad Dar said Tariq Ahmad Khan was continuing as a member of the JKPSC and the routine work was continuing.

“We have conducted exams for many subjects for Higher Education Department (HED) and their recommendations have also been submitted,” Dar said.

He said that the remaining exams that were pending would be conducted by February or March.

"The appointment of the chairman and members of the commission usually takes time. The commission is not defunct," he said.