Srinagar, June 28: 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.
Chief Minister’s Advisor Nasir Aslam Wani said all government recruitments are conducted through proper channels with transparency, while outsourcing is undertaken in accordance with the prescribed tendering process.
“There is no truth in the allegations of backdoor appointments. If anyone has evidence, they should produce it and action will be taken,” Wani told reporters.
He said claims that the government was making appointments through the backdoor were baseless and accused the PDP of spreading misinformation.
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.(KNS)
