Waqf Board rationalising staff, verifying employees’ qualification

Srinagar, June 02: J&K Waqf Board has undertaken a comprehensive exercise for rationalising postings and verifying employees’ qualifications to address the severe deficiency of staff at lower levels within the board and promote transparency.
According to an order issued by its chairperson, the J&K Waqf Board has recruited or engaged several categories of employees over the years without prescribing well-defined criteria. Such employees have been randomly given designations like chowkidars, sweepers, peons, orderlies, tehveeldars, bus conductors, malies, etc and their services have only been utilised as per their designations, it said.
The board said that no fresh recruitments have been made after the constitution of the J&K Waqf Board in 2022. Now, a comprehensive exercise for rationalisation of postings is underway for proper utilisation of Waaf resources, and simultaneously, a large-scale exercise for mass transfers of employees after decades of stay period is also being carried out, it said.
The verification of educational qualification certificates of all employees has been conducted by this office through the respective recognition issuing authorities, and a number of certificates have proved “not to be genuine”, the Waqf Board said, adding that necessary action has been initiated in this regard.
The order also states that the matter was placed before the competent authorities, and, in order to overcome such deficiencies at the lower levels, sanction is hereby accorded to the re-designation of posts, of the enclosed list of 323 employees, that are functionally illiterate or have failed to submit a genuine 10th pass academic qualification certificate till date as Multi-Purpose Staff (MPS).
“The designation shall be used for all such categories of posts that do not require any technical or professional qualification,” it reads. “The services of all such employees shall be henceforth utilised to perform any kind of job that doesn’t require any special skills.”
Additionally, in a move to enhance the identification and recognition of the staff posted at the shrines, the chairperson has designated all employees, from the administrators to the lowest level, as ‘Khaadim-e-Ziyarat’. All staff members are required to carry visible identity cards bearing this designation at all times, as per the directive of the J&K Waqf Board.
“These reforms aim to address staff shortages, ensure transparency in the workforce, and streamline the utilisation of resources, ultimately leading to more efficient operations within the organisation,” the board said.