Will recruit 25,000 in 2026, but not rush through to avoid court cases: J&K CM

Jammu, March 31 (IANS) Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said on Tuesday that the government would make 25,000 fresh recruitments in 2026, but added that he will not rush through the process to avoid court cases.

Replying to a question in the Legislative Assembly, Omar Abdullah said the government is fully committed to filling 25,000 vacant posts in 2026, while emphasising that the recruitment process will be transparent and time-bound.

The CM was replying to a query from PDP MLA from Pulwama, Waheed-ur-Rehman Para, in the Legislative Assembly. The Chief Minister said the issue has been discussed multiple times during the ongoing session, including during debates on the Lieutenant Governor's address, the state budget, and various grant demands.

"Time-bound does not mean the process should be rushed in a manner that leads to court challenges and subsequent halts," the Chief Minister said, underscoring the need for a balanced approach.

He warned against repeating past mistakes where selection lists were framed hastily, only to be challenged in courts.

"In many cases, litigation dragged on for years, and applicants became overage and lost their chance for recruitment," he added.

In another statement, Omar Abdullah said the big problem with the government employees in J&K has been to always look for postings close to their homes. “The problem with government employees in J&K is that every government employee, whether a teacher or a doctor, wants to be posted close to his/her home,” Omar Abdullah said.

One of the biggest problems faced by the elected government is the issue of unemployment among qualified youth. There are no major or medium-scale industries in the union territory that would absorb qualified and professional unemployed youth.

Even the services sector is not good enough to provide employment to many qualified youth in the union territory. The result has been that every qualified, professional youth in Jammu and Kashmir wants a government job.

With one of the larger workforce along the states and union territories of the country, J&K finds it very difficult to provide government jobs to the unemployed youth here.

--IANS

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