Jammu, Oct 19: A General Administration Department (GAD) committee constituted to look into various aspects of transfer policy for reserved category employees of Jammu division posted in Kashmir, is yet to submit its findings, official sources said.
They said that after the selective killing of a reserved category teacher Rajni Balla from Jammu division in Kulgam in May this year, the J&K government constituted a committee headed by Principal Secretary to the Government, GAD Department, vide government order number 870-JK (GAD) of 2022 dated July 25, 2022, to examine the transfer related issues of the reserved category employees of Jammu division, employed in Kashmir division.
“Besides, the committee had to look into other resultant aspects of cadre management and had to submit its report to the Government in a time bound manner but thus far, the committee has not submitted its report to the government,” source said.
One of the members of the committee, Sheetal Nanda, Commissioner Secretary, Social Welfare Department, confirmed that the committee has not submitted its findings yet.
“We’ve been working on this issue. The report has not been submitted yet,” Nanda told Rising Kashmir.
Asked whether the committee members have met in this regard, she said, “yes, we’ve been working on this matter”.
It is worth mentioning here that Divisional Commissioners of Jammu and Kashmir divisions, Commissioner Secretary to the Social Welfare Department, Secretary to the Government, ARI & Training Department, Secretary to the Government, Law, Justice & Parliamentary Affairs, were the members of the committee.
Why are reserved category employees demanding a transfer policy?
Recruited under the Inter-District Recruitment Policy in 2006-07, the first batch of the reserved category employees joined their services in Kashmir in the year 2007.
On condition of anonymity, one of the employees told Rising Kashmir, “thereafter several batches of reserved as well as unreserved category employees joined their services in Kashmir. When we joined, there was no clause of transfer in our recruitment policy”.
“So, after joining and completing five plus years in service, we started approaching the successive government representatives to add the clause of transfer in our recruitment policy but our repeated requests fell on deaf ears”.
In May this year, after a teacher Rajni Bala was shot dead by the terrorists in Kulgam on the last day of the month, the reserved category employees who had completed five plus years in service started an indefinite agitation on June 1, 2022, seeking transfer to their home districts under a properly framed comprehensive transfer policy. Since then, the employees have been continuously protesting in Jammu.
Following this, the J & K government also constituted a committee in July this year to look into the issues of the reserved category employees and framing of a proper transfer policy but thus far, the government constituted committee has not submitted its report.
Meanwhile, J&K BJP has also constituted a committee headed by former Deputy
Chief Minister Dr. Nirmal Singh that will also look into the issues of the reserved category employees and later submit its report to J&K BJP president Ravinder Raina, followed by which the BJP committee will call on LG Manoj Sinha or any other higher administrative officer to discuss the issues of the employees to find a permanent solution to their problems.
