Srinagar, Jun 28 (KNS): The Jammu and Kashmir government on Sunday stoutly defended its outsourcing policy, dismissing opposition charges of backdoor appointments, even as PDP leader Iltija Mufti demanded full public disclosure of contracts and recruitment processes, questioning why hundreds of crores are being spent on private firms.
Addressing a press conference at SKICC Srinagar, Advisor to the Chief Minister Nasir Aslam Wani asserted that all regular government posts are being filled exclusively through the J&K Public Service Commission (JKPSC) and the J&K Services Selection Board (JKSSB). He clarified that outsourcing is resorted to only for manpower requirements beyond sanctioned posts in departments like health, agriculture and sanitation, and that such engagements are carried out through Government e-Marketplace (GeM) and tendering under procurement procedures.
Wani noted that the outsourcing policy was originally introduced during the PDP-BJP coalition government (2015-2018) and that the present dispensation is merely continuing the existing framework. He threw an open challenge to the opposition to produce any evidence of backdoor appointments under the current regime.
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Health Minister Sakina Itoo added that outsourced workers are not government employees and are not entitled to pension or other service benefits. She further alleged that appointments made in the J&K Bank during the previous PDP-BJP tenure are currently under Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) investigation.
Rural Development Minister Javid Dar maintained that outsourcing is being implemented under centrally sponsored schemes across various states and Union Territories, with manpower engaged through procurement procedures under the General Financial Rules (GFR) wherever required.
However, within hours of the government briefing, Iltija Mufti took to X, posing a series of pointed questions: Who selected the private companies? What was the selection process? On what basis are people being recruited? And will the government make the outsourcing contracts and recruitment details public?
The exchange has intensified the ongoing political slugfest over recruitment policies in Jammu and Kashmir, with the opposition demanding transparency and the government maintaining that all procedures are being followed as per rules. (KNS)